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Leveraging Government, Business, and Grant Support to Grow the Biotech

Workforce

Eilene LyonsActing Dean, STEM Division STLCC-Florissant Valley

STLCC Biotechnology ProgramFounding Coordinator

AAAS Community College Forum February 17, 2011

First Biotechnology Program in Missouri

• Founded Fall 1999• Research and Development based• AAS and Certificate in Biotechnology• Half of declared majors - BS or higher

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Program Success

• 98 degrees awarded• 64 Declared Majors currently• 91% life science job placement of core

course completers

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Job Placement

• bioMerieux• Centocor • Covidien• Donald Danforth Plant Science Center • Millipore Drug Discovery • Monsanto • Pfizer• Washington University Research Labs

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Timing is Everything…

• 2001 – 2002, St. Louis plant and life science sector exceeded average national growth.

– Employment grew 56.6 percent.

– Added 3,676 new jobs in one year.

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Plant and Life Science R&D Nodes

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Vision for Growth: Step 1

Battelle study, January 2005

“St. Louis Community College offers an Associate of Applied Science in Biotechnology degree but the program is limited by space. As the region’s start-up companies expand, there is likely to be greater demand for technicians than can be produced currently. An option that might be considered to enable STLCC to expand their biotechnology offerings would be to provide lab space for the college in the new multi-tenant building being planned…”

AAAS Community College Forum February 17, 2011 AAAS Community College Forum February 17, 2011

Bio-Research & Development Growth Park (BRDG Park)

AtThe Danforth Plant Science Center

AAAS Community College Forum February 17, 2011

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Not-for-profit scientific facility Founded in 1998 by The Danforth Foundation

Through an alliance between

University of Illinois-Urbana ChampagneMissouri Botanical Garden

University of Missouri-Columbia MO Monsanto Company

Purdue UniversityWashington University St. Louis

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BRDG Park’s Mission

• To help fledgling companies transition from innovative ideas in plant and life science to commercial successes

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MONSANTOWORLDHEADQUARTERS

DANFORTH CENTER

BRDG PARK

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BRDG Park

• Initial phase: 60,000 square feet of wet laboratory and office space

• Two additional buildings planned, 500,000 total square feet

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St. Louis Community College10,500 square feet on first floor

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Funding the Build-out and Equipment

• Tobacco Settlement Fund $500,000• State Tax Credits $500,000• NASA Grants $1,100,000• MO Dept. of Ed. Grant $213,000• Monsanto Fund $250,000

$2,563,000

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AAAS Community College Forum February 17, 2011

AAAS Community College Forum February 17, 2011

Missouri State Government Support

Former Governor Matt Blunt2006

Current Governor Jay Nixon2009

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Vision for Growth: Step 2• Addition of a contract research lab within

BRDG Park

• Modeled after InnovaBio – Salt Lake Community College

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The BIO-BENCH

• NSF ATE project grant $680,000- Senior Scientist Elizabeth Boedeker- Coordinates research projects- Supervises Biotechnology Program

interns who perform research

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Primary Goal

• Continue the education of our students

• Provide a real world lab experience

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Secondary Goal

• Resource for start-up companies– Lab space– High end equipment and instrumentation– Lab assistants

• STLCC Biotech Interns

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BIO-BENCH Projects 2010-11• qPCR expression analysis of a mouse model

for sepsis• qPCR expression analysis, protein analysis of

human astrocyte cell line

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BIO-BENCH Projects 2010-11• Genotyping transgenic plants• Algae to biofuel• Biofermentation of

Archaea for fuel cells• Genetic analysis of

rare bleeding disorder

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BIO-BENCH Interns (9)

• Divergence (BRDG Park) – 2 graduates• Phycal LLC (BRDG PARK) – 1 graduate• MOBIO and Golden Soy LLC – 1 graduate• Interns currently at the CRO – 3• Intern at Phycal LLC – 1 • December intern/graduates

seeking employment - 2

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• Elaine Johnson and Bio-Link• Tamara Goetz and Craig Caldwell, SLCC• Missouri Senator Christopher ‘Kit’ Bond• Missouri Governors Jay Nixon and Matt Blunt • Donald Danforth Plant Science Center• Wexford Corporation• Monsanto

Acknowledgements:

AAAS Community College Forum February 17, 2011 AAAS Community College Forum February 17, 2011