1. Why here? Why now?

Biotechnology is here, now. Understanding how it shapes our world is necessary for all of us, whether or not we are headed toward a scientific or technical career. Here’s why.

It’s exciting work. Learning about biotechnology provides a foundation for careers that use varied talents and interests. It’s a cutting-edge field that will put you in the company of people who are changing the world and whose work is their passion.

This is a good place to learn more. Tech Valley is home to many public/ private partnerships in this research-intensive industry. They need young people! (And they need partnerships with schools, community groups and parents.) This list is just a sample:

• the Center for Functional Genomics on the University at Albany’s East Campus,
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies,
• the Advanced Research Center in Pharmacogenomics at Albany Medical College.
• the Ordway Research Institute within University Heights in Albany (supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Sciences Foundation, March of Dimes, American Heart Association and over 10 biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies)

There will be jobs, here and around the world. New York state ranks second in the country in a study of bioscience employment (Laboratories of Innovation: State Bioscience Initiatives 2004). In this region, growth from research and development jobs (and related support services) makes planners optimistic. Whether in manufacturing, or at the university or corporate level, salaries are above the average in the area.

Knowing about biotechnology benefits society. Headlines such as “Scientists are poised to create life” get our attention! What are the risks, benefits and trade-offs of developing made-to-order cells or using cells as living machines? Who wins and who loses?
Knowledge of biotechnology will benefit anyone preparing for a high tech future. This is true whether or not a young person is interested in science, math, or engineering and whether or not she or he will seek advanced degrees.

 

2. Biotechnology basics

Biotechnology describes the use of cells and biological molecules (such as DNA and proteins) in practical applications. Its tools and techniques are precise and its products highly regulated. According to the trade group Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), “Biotechnology products will solve specific problems, generate gentler or fewer side effects and have fewer unintended consequences” than other technologies.

Nevertheless, biotechnology is grounded in the use of living organisms. It could alter the environment or the gene-pool in dramatic, irreversible ways say some writers, artists, theologians and environmentalists.

The debate means that knowledge of biotechnology is increasingly important in business, law and government.

• Should consumers be able to avoid genetically modified foods? Are there reasons to do so? Of genetically modified organisms, one expert said: "perhaps no technology better illustrates the current mismatch between the adoption of a new technology and society's ability to deal with it."
• To what degree should governments, acting for the common good, limit the power of a corporation whose biotech research and development means it owns a living organism and the process of biological reproduction?

According to investment writer Tom Abate, biotechnology is "the industrial expression of a powerful movement in the history of science that has already been fifty years in the making. The science behind the biotech boom, molecular biology, will reshape the twenty-first century."

On the other hand, “Biotechnology is an emerging area. It’s not arrived yet. It’s arriving. It’s still a very embryonic industry,” said Andrew Marshall, editor of Nature Biotechnology.

Biotechnology allows for the manufacturing of human insulin, the hepatitis B vaccine, enzymes used in cheese-making and biodegradable plastics. It harnesses bacteria for tasks like digesting pollutants and extracting minerals from ore. It is transforming healthcare, farming and food. Without biotechnology there would be no DNA forensics.

What biotechnology makes possible:

• genetic modification using recombinant DNA techniques (combining genetic material from different sources) to manufacture pharmaceuticals, treat some genetic diseases, increase agricultural yields
• protein engineering creating proteins not found in nature for use in drug development, food processing and industrial manufacturing of textiles, pulp and paper, food and feed
• use of monoclonal antibodies as diagnostic tools to distinguish cancer cells from normal cells, detect pollutants in the environment or harmful microorganisms in food
• cloning technology useful in studying genetic diseases, aging and cancer
• biosensors (a cell enzyme or antibody linked with a power source) that act as sensing devices to identify and measure substances in low concentrations, such as toxins or biowarfare agents
• microarrays which allows laboratory researchers to analyze thousands of samples simultaneously to study gene structure and function and to answer scientific questions
• bio-nanotechnology to produce nanostructures like biochips for use in microprocessors and micro circuits, storing and transmitting more information in smaller places

The Capital Region is a center for growth in biotechnology, from basic research to pilot manufacturing to education. Scientists and students come to do work in bioengineering (combining biology, mechanical engineering, ethics, and computer science), bioinformatics, integrative systems biology, functional tissue engineering, biocatalysis and metabolic engineering.

Want to know about careers related to biotechnology? Read about working as an animal husbandry specialist, forensic technologist or research scientist. Select from four biotech categories:

• Agricultural Biotechnology
• Healthcare Biotechnology
• Industrial Environmental Biotechnology
• Law Enforcement and Security Biotechnology

 

3. Biotechnology in Tech Valley—what's going on?

Track a biological trail
New York State Police Forensic Investigation Laboratory collaborates with the University at Albany’s Department of Biological Sciences to train the next generation of forensic molecular biologists. Students learn to track a biological trail from the merest momentary and fragmentary contact--a trace of saliva on a coffee cup, cigarette or chewing gum, a clothing fiber or shaft of hair, a drop of blood or semen stain--using techniques of DNA analysis. They also learn how to discuss DNA analysis in the courtroom.

Rodent research
Taconic Inc., provides essential genetic material for biomedical research. The mouse importing and breeding firm based in Germantown, NY is one of the largest laboratory rodent providers in the world (with five breeding facilities and three service laboratories in the USA and Europe.) In a partnership with other local companies to study mutant (transgenic) mice, Taconic shares expensive equipment with the federally funded Center for Functional Genomics on the University at Albany’s East Campus.

Bioart!
VivoArts, a living art production class at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is taught by Adam Zaretsky. “Bioartist” Zaretsky worked with Joe Davis at the Masssachussetts Institute of Technology and assisted Eduardo Kac in teaching the first History of Art and Biology course at the Art Institute of Chicago. Kac commissioned French scientists to create a transgenic rabbit carrying jellyfish genes that enabled its fur to glow green under ultraviolet light.

Biotech investment
Described in The Biotech Investor: How to Profit from the Coming Boom in Biotechnology, Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (AMRI) is a chemical company specializing in finding small-molecule drugs to hit specific protein “targets” (A target is a point of failure in cell function that can be set right by a chemical intervention, i.e. a medicine.) One of Albany Molecular’s contracts is with the National Institute on Drug Abuse to manufacture safe treatments for substance abuse.

TechaPalooza
“BATS: Business-Arts-Technology-Science—Where Innovation Happens” is the name of the annual TechaPalooza festival at Troy’s Revolution Hall aimed at bringing together the area’s creative classes. The BATS Festival features live entertainment on two stages, food and prizes. Playing in a rock band and technological creativity go together, according to writers at Tech Valley Times.

 

4. Connecting interests with biotech opportunities

Archaeology—Bioarcheologists at the New York State Museum provide a window to the past by examining skeletons unearthed by construction workers, especially the bones of native Americans.

Art—Amazingly, the worlds of art and science connect in biotechnology. DNA, blood and microorganisms are artistic media. To explore this connection, start with Gene(sis): Art Explores Human Genomics, an exhibit created by representatives of the biotechnology industry, artists, scientists, bioethicists and museum professionals. Who better than artists to re-imagine individuality, family and human “nature” now that there are permeable boundaries between species, and new questions of DNA ownership, personal property and the management of genetic information?

Beauty & Fitness—“Next Wave,” Science magazine’s regular look at career opportunities, has featured careers in exercise and sports science, from athletic performance to disease prevention.
Business & Finance—To start learning the language of biotech investment, try subscribing to FierceBiotech, a free, daily on-line monitor of the biotech industry.

Government—Biotechnology is a subject for political platforms during elections (try “stem cell research” as a search term), congressional hearings, policy and regulation by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, the Agricultural Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and many other government agencies.

Legal services—Law firms hire staff with biotechnology backgrounds for biotechnology and biomedical patent work. Check out Albany Law School’s Science and Technology Law Center to learn more.

Sports—Could a technique that has made “supermice” with twice as much muscle as ordinary mice be used in humans to create superathletes? Search in Science magazine for articles about the signaling properties underlying the activity of “designer” steroids and the biochemical regulators of muscle mass.

 

5. Voices of experience

“I’m the first person...”
“Through DNA analysis, I’m the first person who knows if the defendant did it or not. Your work might exonerate a person of rape or convict a murderer. It’s exciting and it varies every day,” said Matt of Queensbury, NY, senior laboratory technician and DNA analyst at the State Police crime lab: UAlbany Magazine

“I made a connection...”
“I remember putting a cut finger to my lips and it tasted like iron. I made a connection between the bleeding cut and the mineral, yet wondered how they were related. My curiosity and ability to connect pieces of information led to a project studying protein mis-folding, a process thought to underlie several debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and type II diabetes. I began focusing on stable proteins. Which ones are unlikely to misfold? What makes them stable? And, can an unstable protein be redesigned with the characteristics of a stable one? To find an answer, I helped develop a new technique—a way to identify stable proteins quickly—that has the potential to answer these questions.” Marta of Hudson, NY, student researcher at RPI speaking in an article about RPI commencement 2004

“I am the only contact person with the customers...”
“I work for a biotechnology company that produces innovative products for life science research. I took a biology and a chemistry course at a community college, completed my certificate in biotechnology and transferred to the university for my degree in neurobiology with an emphasis in molecular biology. I am now working at Stratagene/Bioquest and going to school full time. As the cDNA library coordinator I am the only contact person with the customers. I answer all the technical and logistical questions that the customers have about cDNA library construction. For each new product, I am responsible for analyzing the data, double-checking the calculations, adding the excitations and checking the RNA gels. Although I don’t work in a lab anymore, I love helping customers and learning about new products.” Tamara of Cedar Creek, TX, cDNA library coordinator, from Bio-Link.org

“You’ll spend three months in crime scene school...”
“To become a crime scene technician you need a minimum of a high school diploma and three years experience, either law enforcement or chemistry and biology. You must pass through a background check and interviewing process to be hired. Once accepted, you’ll spend three months in crime scene school and three months riding with a technician obtaining on-the-job training. You are then on probation for a year. There are three shifts; 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m. or 11:30 p.m.-7:30 a.m., five technicians per shift with three working at a time who take the crime scene calls. You may be working several cases at a time but priority is given to homicide, murder.” Carl of Kansas City, MO, crime scene technician

 

More:
An on-line excerpt from the Vault Career Guide to Biotech by Carol Moussalli includes a clear description of departments in a biotech company focused on healthcare applications. Read about what goes on in research and development, operations, quality, finance and administration, business development and project management. In the book itself, profiles of biotech professionals give a lively sense of a day in the life of workers in each department followed by a chapter on corporate culture.

Getthatgig.com features great interviews with individuals who work in thirteen career clusters.

Career Cruising is a service available for a free three-month trial subscription at your school. Call the Center for Innovative Career Development for details.

Want ads offer a taste of high tech employment opportunities that might be in the future. Check Monster.com, classified ads in the Capital Region’s Tech Valley Times, newspaper business sections and the Business Review.

Check news releases from area colleges, which often feature interviews with students, faculty members and graduates about the work they do.

 

6. Getting a head start in biotechnology

High School students are making critical decisions about their career paths in a vacuum, according to a survey of high school juniors and seniors nationwide. How could this be changed?

There is a lot an individual can do to determine what work she or he would enjoy and match interests with real opportunities.
Here are ideas to give you a head start in biotechnology.

• Check what teachers are using, for example web resources created by professional associations such as the National Association of Biology Teachers
• Make virtual visits to museums and science centers, listed by the Association of Science-Technology Centers with links to hundreds of creative places.
• Check cutting edge TV & related web resources: Nova on PBS produced “Cracking the Code of Life” and “Bioterror”.
• Free reading assignments in English class? Search for reviews of Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution by Francis Fukuyama and the classic Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Literary fiction: All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki, a humorous look at agribusiness, full of transcultural and technological weirdness.

 

See Getting a head start in the Resources section for more.