This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Science Master's Program: Creation of a New Master's Program in Medical and Industrial Biotechnology (PI: DeLisa; Lead Institution: Cornell University)
Biotechnology is widely recognized as one of the key enabling technologies of the 21st century with potential applications in numerous diverse industries including health and medicine (diagnosing, treating and preventing disease), agriculture (genetic engineering of plants and animals for food and fiber), energy (biofuels and bio-based products), and manufacturing (food processing and chemical engineering). From an economic development perspective, biotechnology is a desirable industry because biotechnology firms have the potential to generate high-paying, high-skill jobs. However, as a knowledge-based industry, biotechnology is largely dependent on the availability of specially trained professionals, particularly research scientists, engineers and technicians. Thus, this proposal seeks to cultivate the next generation of highly trained US graduate students who meet the growing needs of biotechnology employers and are prepared for careers in an area of significant employment growth. To accomplish this goal, a new master?s degree in Medical and Industrial Biotechnology will be created at Cornell University. This program has been specifically designed to introduce graduate trainees to the broad, interdisciplinary nature of the biotechnology industry by integrating a curriculum of modern biology, bioengineering and business courses with in-depth, hands-on biotechnology research training. This program will actively and aggressively broaden participation in science and engineering by working seamlessly with Cornell?s Diversity Programs in Engineering. With assistance from a 15-member industrial advisory board and over 40 faculty from 19 academic departments at Cornell, every effort will be made to recruit the most talented US citizens from diverse disciplines ranging from engineering to the physical and life sciences.
The overarching goal of our SMP is to develop the Cornell Medical and Industrial Biotechnology (MIB) master’s program, which has been specifically designed to introduce trainees to the broad, interdisciplinary nature of the biotechnology industry by combining an integrated curriculum of modern biology, bioengineering and business courses with in-depth biotechnology research training. Our major accomplishment over the three years of the SMP proposal has been the development and refinement of both a 1-year and 2-year professional science master’s program that is interdisciplinary in character, strongly emphasizes effective communication and problem solving, and provides an understanding of entrepreneurial skills and technical innovation. We have engaged collaboratively a broad set of stakeholders - employers, prospective students, faculty, professional staff - in designing curricula, defining education projects and internships, and advocating this new educational opportunity. An entirely new academic minor field of biotechnology is now being established at Cornell to unite these faculty and all of the diverse biotechnology efforts across campus. Importantly, we have created a master’s program that is sustainable and will continue to grow even after the generous NSF support has expired. The MIB program is defined by six program goals that can be condensed to the following project objectives: recruit a diverse body of student participants, prepare students for careers in solving medical and industrial biotechnology problems, and evolve long-lasting collaborations between faculty, trainees and industrial participants. These goals are met in part by providing students with value-added hands-on training activities as well as exposure to the following: fundamental biotechnology laboratory skills, individual mentored research projects with MIB faculty, team-based design projects and cutting edge biotechnology-related research symposiums. The specific major accomplishments are summarized below: Recruited 60 master’s students. During the three-year period of the SMP project, we successfully recruited 60 master’s students to the MIB program. This number of trainees is in line with our originally proposed target of 50-65 trainees in the program. It should be pointed out that about a quarter (14/60) of these students were supported directly by NSF SMP funds; the rest supported themselves or were provided with departmental/university fellowships. Increased the participation of women and individuals from underrepresented groups. More than a third (22/60) of the 60 trainees were women or from underrepresented groups. Graduated 47 trainees. In line with our success in recruiting 60 master’s students, we successfully graduated 47 students during the three-year period of the award. The remaining 13 students are expected to graduate one year after the term date of the SMP project. Of the 47 graduates, most have been recruited by industry including the following companies: Adimab, Environ, Genzyme, and Globalfoundaries. A significant fraction of students have been admitted to PhD programs in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering or Biomedical Engineering at the following universities: Cornell University; Pennsylvania State University; Stanford University; University of Texas, Austin; and University of Wisconsin, Madison. Developed 6 new courses. We developed 6 new classes that are specific to the goals of the MIB Training Program and provide value-added hands-on training activities and exposure to the following: fundamental biotechnology laboratory skills, individual mentored research projects with MIB faculty, team-based design projects and cutting edge biotechnology-related research symposiums. The courses developed were: CHEME 5440 "Systems Biology in Medicine and Biotechnology" (includes open-ended design project); CHEME 5940 "Bioengineering Logic and Design" (hands-on laboratory training course); CHEME 5990 "Biotechnology Seminar" (build-your-own seminar series); CHEME 5651 "MIB Design Project" (hands-on independent or team-based laboratory research project); CHEME 6300 "Biomolecular Engineering" (hands-on "research deconstruction"); and CHEME 7770 "Advanced Principles of Biomolecular Engineering" (covers the physical principles required for understanding the molecular basis of life and its use in biotechnologies). Assessed program outcomes. This involved evaluating the performance of individual trainees in several ways: (1) grades in coursework; (2) evaluation of scientific seminars/presentations and (3) final project thesis. While coursework grading was handled by individual course instructors, the evaluation of student seminars/presentations and the final thesis was performed collaboratively by MIB faculty. We have also actively tracked all trainees that have left the program. We will continue to assess the impact of the program on the professional growth and development of these individuals. Garnered numerous accolades. Throughout the three-year period of this SMP project, our students were continually recognized for their many accomplishments. For example, in year 1, trainee Joshua Lequieu was honored with a "Best Poster" award at the 3rd International Conference on Biomolecular Engineering (ICBE). Joshua’s poster was based on his MIB Design Project in the lab of Dr. Jeff Varner. The poster was entitled "A Model of Insulin-Mediated Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Identified Distinct Functional Submodules Highlighting the Role of IRS1 and mTORC1" and earned him a $500 prize. In year 2, another one of our trainees, Eva Huang was selected as a Merrill Scholar, arguably the highest honor Cornell bestows on a graduating student.
