How eager are employers for our graduates in biotech?
Students who choose biotech as the focus for their studies have the opportunity to join a “hot” field where workers are in high demand. This is one of the fastest routes to a job in science, since an associate’s degree can get you into a lab. The median entry-level salary for graduates with associate in science degree biotech is $28,600. Higher salaries are typically offered by new, entrepreneurial companies. Growth potential is great! Most companies subsidize the trip up the career ladder with support for bachelors or more advanced degrees.
So why is there such a shortage of people?
We have challenges getting people aware and interested. If I have one message for prospective students, it’s that biotech isn’t a scary business. There’s a certain amount of fear around anything that’s new. And although the term “biotechnology” has only been around since the mid-1970s, biotech itself is ancient. If you’ve got beer or bread, wine or cheese in your refrigerator, you’ve got biotech. Yogurt is one of the earliest applications of biotech. At least 6,000 years ago, nomadic tribes in the Middle East discovered that they could preserve milk by allowing it to ferment to yogurt. This fermentation is caused by microorganisms (lactobacilli) living in the milk. Beer is another example of the ancient art of biotech. The Kirin brewery in Japan once used a recipe for beer that was originally found in hieroglyphics in an Egyptian tomb. Ruins of a bakery that was turning out yeast bread at around 4,000 BC have been found in an Egyptian tomb. Civilization as we know it may owe its beginnings a random genetic mutation that turned an unpalatable wild grass into the wheat we grow today. The biotechnology industry does the same sort of thing – just faster.
Some people fear genetic engineering and they label modified products as “Franken food.” I think back 30-40 years ago to the public’s fear of computers. There was the evil HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey that tried to kill everyone on the spacecraft. The thought was that computers were going to take away all of our jobs and then rule the world. But today we all carry three or four computers around with us everywhere we go and can’t imagine how life would be without a word-processor, or a cell-phone, or the internet. Biotechnology has the same capacity to change the world for the better.
What about the dark side of biotech?
Today’s realities mean that we must worry about terrorists working with old plagues such as smallpox or modern poisons like Ricin. But terrorists aren’t superhuman. They can’t do anything new; they can only steal existing ideas and resources. And the rest of the world has better ideas and a lot more resources.
What factors are behind the current emphasis on biotech?
The opportunities! When my three-year-old is a grown-up, biotech will have brought us great gains in the “four F’s”: fuels, fibers, pharmaceuticals and food. Diagnosis and care for patients will be revolutionized. With nanotech enabling us to have tiny objects with huge computing power, we can wear imperceptible little sensors that can monitor heart rate and blood pressure and send information to the doctor’s computer. On the near horizon, we can’t ignore the fact that our Governor has targeted biotech as a growth area. That can be a magnet for capital. For example, Cogene Ventures, a venture capital company is investing $157 million in life sciences and has targeted the Greater Houston area for about a third of it. The government recently contracted for a large biolevel safety 4 facility at UTMB in Galveston. This laboratory will be devoted to research that will help protect us all from the most dangerous biological threats, including bio-terrorism. These ventures will bring money to the area and jobs will follow the money.
Is biotech being popularized by Hollywood?
We need more good movies about biotech. Someone should remake “Outbreak” – the film about the Ebola virus. The Hot Zone, which is the book the movie is based on, is a true story and the moviemakers should have simply stuck to the facts. The story of how researchers discovered an outbreak of Ebola infection in Washington D.C. was fascinating and scary enough for anyone. On television, CSI is a real-world show. The folks in the white coats are supporting those criminal investigations with biotech. On Discovery channel, there’s Cold Case that tells stories like the episode where new technology helped solve a 40-year-old murder case.
If you were going to produce a movie about biotech, what would it be about?
Somebody should tell Craig Ventnor’s story. Almost single-handedly he took on the U.S. government and forced it to complete the human genome project 5 years early. He did this the old-fashioned way – by doing it himself better and faster. In the coming generation, the information he helped us get 5 years early will save many, many lives. But Ventnor has been treated badly by the government and often by the press. I would cast Patrick Stewart to play Ventnor. He’s a brilliant actor, and we accept him as both intelligent and wise. We expect that he can solve important problems using his brain and without having to shoot someone or drive a speeding getaway car.
Are women likely to star in biotech movies? The president of Harvard University got himself into hot water over remarks about women in science--
America is the land of equality. We want every person to have equal opportunity to succeed. Sometimes we get confused about equality of opportunity and everybody being the same, though. It’s pretty obvious that we’re not all the same. Well that’s just what Dr. Summers said, after being ASKED to speculate on such things. I can assure students interested in Biotechnology that this field has educational opportunities and jobs for anyone who is interested, has some basic aptitude in science and is willing to work hard. For example, women comprise over 50% of the students currently in the program at Lone Star College–Montgomery. There are already lots of superb female role models in the biological sciences, and I have no doubt that they will make discoveries worth making movies about in the coming years. We also see students from a big range of backgrounds and ethnicities in the program. This year, the out biotech institute obtained federal funding through the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop new ways to encourage first-generation students and other underserved populations to consider biotechnology as a career.
What are some traits that tip you off that a person might be good in biotech?
One useful trait for the laboratory sciences is liking to work with your hands. All the sciences require lots of curiosity and a desire to solve problems on your own. Asking questions such as, “What would happen if I mix this with that?” I personally was kicked out of my mother’s kitchen when I was in third grade. I found a way to make a volcano by combining baking soda and vinegar. There was this GREAT frothy explosion … and an even bigger mess. Shortly thereafter I had my own laboratory in the basement. Many researchers in the biological sciences are motivated by wanting to help cure common serious illnesses. Several of my students entered the program because relatives died of cancer, for example. Another student became curious about genetics after the birth of her identical twins. In summary, what I tell potential students is if you like to work with your hands, are curious and like any aspect of biology then you can look forward to bright prospects in biotechnology.
To learn more about biotech and Lone Star College–Montgomery, visit montgomery.lonestar.edu/biotech/index.htm.