The Minority Biotechnology Training Program, referred to as the """"""""NIH Fellows Program, was successfully piloted in 2001. This program brought minority students and faculty from historically minority colleges and universities throughout the country to San Diego to attend the 2001 annual international convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and a two-day pre-convention workshop. This workshop provided students and faculty with a deeper grounding in new and emerging technologies, industrial entrepreneurship and curriculum development in biotechnology and related sciences. NIH funding was supplemented by BIO and numerous biotech companies to allow 43 minority students and faculty to participate. The feedback from participants was clear: the program is very important to help bring diversity to the biotechnology field and must be continued. Building on the positive momentum for this program, the Biotechnology Institute, a newly created non-profit organization dedicated to biotechnology education, proposes to oversee the planning, implementation, and institutionalization of this program, beginning the transition with a program for 20 minority students and 5 faculty from minority institutions. The Institute will rely on the expertise of key personnel who contributed to last year's success, specifically Dr. Robert Pozos and Dr. Stephen Dahms of San Diego State University. BIO has already committed complimentary registration, worth $25,000, for all participants for which we are requesting NIH funds, and companies such as Genentech have indicated their willingness to provide substantial supplementary funds. Funding of $79,268 from NIH will support this transition and allow the Institute to put together essential partnerships with important organizations such as the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) and the Society for the Advancements for Chicanos and Native Americans into Sciences (SACNAS) to plan for expansion over time.
