Life Sciences Summer Institute 2005 Teacher Externship Program

This project was funded through the San Diego Workforce Partnership, Inc. by a grant awarded under the President's High Growth Job Training

Initiative, as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration

Program Goals • Increase teacher awareness of

the life sciences industries (biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics).

• Influence curriculum taught in local high schools

Week 1 “Boot Camp”- An Overview of Biotech

• First teachers to use Biogen Idec’s Community Lab

• Instructor: Sandy Slivka,PhD

• Big Picture of Biotechnology

• Career Paths • Bioethics Discussion • Solution Making

“Boot Camp” – Hands-On Lab • Instructor: Marty

Ikkanda • Electrophoresis • Restriction Analysis • Ligation • Competent Cells • Transformation • PCR • GFP Purification

Teacher Participants• 10 teachers representing 5 San Diego County School Districts

• We want to: – Provide better

experiences for our students

– Expose students to the diverse world of biotech

– Inspire students to pursue science

– Show students career opportunities

What we learned… • Knowledge of how people

(students) find their way into the biotechnology industry

• Conceptual understanding of the science used in biotechnology

• Experience using modern tools of the biotechnology researcher

• Most importantly, how to better prepare our students!

Week 2 & 3 – Industry Externship Experiences

The teachers rotated through 13 San Diego life science and biotech companies and research institutions.

The Salk Institute • Founded in 1955 by

Jonas Salk with support from the March of Dimes

• He produced a vaccine that halted the spread of polio.

• He considered basic research humanity’s best hope for ameliorating problems that affect people across the globe.

Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.

A focus on basic biological research • Basic biological research is

where the cures to human diseases find their origins. Today Salk Institute scientists are focusing their research in the following areas: – Understanding the Cell – Understanding Embryonic

Development – Understanding the Brain – Understanding Biological

Design

Studying plant growth hormones

The Scripps Research Institute • Internationally recognized science research institute and

Ph.D. Program • Lots of job opportunities with 270 professors, 800 post-

docs, 1500 technicians and support, 126 PhD students. • Funding from National Institute of Health and industrial

partnerships. • Great programs for teachers and students including

classes and summer internships.

Hanging out with the Finn Research Group • Specialize in synthesis, catalysis,

and materials science with organic, organometallic, and biological molecules

• We toured the facility and saw electron microscopy equipment.

• Finn says that, “chemistry is architecture at the molecular level”

• Scripps scientists advise: - Learn serial dilutions,

stoichiometry, and look for internships early!!!

“From research, the power to cure”

The Burnham Institute

• Cancer Center – Cancer Drug

Discovery Initiative bridges the gap between basic research and therapy

• Stem Cell research – Damaged cell replacement

• Center for Neuroscience and Aging – Study cell damage and death

What we discovered… • 2 Technology Centers

– Center on Proteolytic Pathways – Stem Cell Center

• We saw stems cells treated to differentiate into heart cell, and they were beating!!

• Micro-array gene chips • Cell Sorter – separates cells by

charge • NMR – determines the structure of

a molecule by using the magnetic properties of the atoms in the molecule

ISIS Pharmaceuticals • RNA based antisense technology to discover and

develop novel drugs to treat metabolic, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and cancerous disease.

• They produce oligonucleotides that will hybridize the receptor RNA to form a duplex; therefore, preventing the production of proteins involved in disease.

• This technology is advantageous because: – All targets are “drug-able” – High specificity for target RNA – Predictable pharmokinetics/ toxicology – Identical manufacturing

• The entire step-by-step drug development process: from discovery to manufacturing of a product. – Main product is Vitravene (fomivirsen) which is used

for CMV (cytomegalovirus) which occurs in the eyes of AIDS patients.

– Researching the various ways of administering drugs (oral, aerosol, injection, etc.)

• Isis employees provided advice to our students: - Have a good attitude and hard work ethic - Knowledge of basic science, math, and technical

writing - Be an enthusiastic team player - Be flexible and willing to learn - Have the ability to deal with set-backs

What we explored at Isis…

SGX

• Focus on crystalline form of proteins to analyze structure of potentially useful molecules – Use world-famous Cyclotron in Chicago

to help analyze • One of 5 organizations granted by NIH

to Proteome project (describe all proteins within humans)

Teachers See Biotech in 3D…

• Excellent tour! They had everything planned out. Martha, our scientist host, was kind

• Infectious diseases (including Anthrax, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus and oncology are their primary targets

• Use of deep antibody knowledge and extensive antibody database

Alexion Antibody Technologies

• Our home-base!! • Biogen-Idec has a strong

community outreach program, and we spent our first week in their very cool community lab!

• Core technology: monoclonal antibodies – Rituxin® & Zevalin® are current

drugs on the market

Biogen Idec

Biogen Idec • Our tour involved the

entire scope of the enterprise from discovery - to patenting - to clinical trials - to marketing

• We Heard a testimonial from a successfully treated patient

• Received advice for our students – Cooperative learning and

discovery approaches are important in the classroom

• “First biotechnology company to scale up protein manufacturing successfully from the small quantities used for research to the much larger quantities needed for clinical trials and marketing.”

Genentech

•The manufacturing plant is designed to work with gravity. There are 3 floors, where the processes start on the top floor and finish on the bottom floor.

Genentech

Dow Pharmaceuticals

• Creates new technologies for drug discovery, development, manufacturing and delivery

• Uses Pseudomonas fluorescence, transgenic plants, plant cell culture, and produces vaccines

• A bio-defense company protecting us from biological warfare

Pfizer History & Core Technology

• Founded in 1849 by two cousins, Charles Pfizer and Charles Ethard.

• Pfizer uses chemistry and biology to manufacture prescription medicine by design, for human and animals.

• Pfizer then markets the drug to three business segments: healthcare, animal health and consumer healthcare.

• The first product was Santonin which was used to treat intestinal worms. The taste was bitter and so Charles Ethard, cofounder, who was a confectioner creatively blended the drug with the almond-toffee flavoring and shaped it into candy.

What Science has to do with it

• Many diseases, such as cancer, eye diseases, diabetes, depression & high cholesterol develop as a result of the expression of a protein.

• Pfizer drugs target enzymes involved in organism function, viral production, and/or protein production. The drugs bind to the enzymes and thus disable them.

Genomatica Overview & Core Technology

• Biotechnology Software (in silico) • Creates and predicts capabilities

of biological models • Analyzes high-throughput data

• Represents large integrated biological systems

• Drives biological research and discovery for commercial

applications

Genomatica: Products & Services • SimPheny™ • Predictive Metabolic Models • Model Development,

Research and Discovery

Gen-Probe Core Technology & Innovation

Probe Technology & Nucleic Acid Diagnostics •Targets rRNA •TMA (Transcription Mediated Amplification), which has greater amplification than PCR •TIGRIS Automation System Specific Tests for… •sexually transmitted diseases •NAT’s for TB, strep thro