This past weekend the Skyline Biotechnology Program hosted the annual BABEC board retreat. During this meeting, members of the BABEC board representing biotechnology educational outreach programs from around the Bay Area talked about how they can increase the biotechnology educational opportunities to both high schools and middle schools in the Bay Area.
Skyline College was introduced to BABEC through the College’s work with Gene Connection, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Gene Connection provides lesson plans, equipment, materials and faculty professional development to local high schools at a very reasonable price ($300 per section). BABEC hopes to use the Gene Connection experience to support and provide a model for similar programs like the Program in Biotechnology Education (Probe) in Marin, the Ease Bay Biotechnology Educators Network EBBE net, and San Francisco Biotechnology Alliance for Science Education S-F Base .
BABEC and the Skyline College Biotechnology Manufacturing program are working together with other Bay Area community colleges to develop a biotechnology logistics program. This program would support the educational outreach to our local schools as well as provide our students with relevant work experience. We hope that a biotechnology logistics program will manufacture enzymes and DNA probes, maintain quality of reagents as well as equipment, and deliver a product on time as well as show chain of control.
Article and Photo by Nick Kapp
