2010 STEMtech Conference - STLCC.eduusers.stlcc.edu › departments › FVSMET › STEMtech_2010.pdf · Bioprocessing at STLCC Students trained in the theory and practice of: –separating

STEMtech Conference, November 1, 2010STEMtech Conference, November 1, 2010

2010 STEMtech ConferenceConcurrent Session Presentation

by

St. Louis Community College


Sustaining Cutting Edge Techniques in Biotechnology

ProgramsEilene Lyons

Kevin Toal

Elizabeth Boedeker


St. Louis Community College –Florissant Valley Campus

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

STEMtech Conference, November 1, 2010

First Biotechnology Program in Missouri

• Started Fall 1999

• Research and Development based

• AAS and Certificate of Specialization degrees

• Half of declared majors - BS or higher


Program Success

• 270 students since program inception

• 96 AAS & CS Degrees awarded

• 64 Declared Majors currently

• 91% life science job placement of core course completers


Job Placement

• bioMerieux

• Centocor

• Covidien

• Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

• Millipore Drug Discovery

• Monsanto

• Pfizer

• Washington University Research Labs


Maintaining an Innovative Cutting Edge Curriculum


• Greenomes: Plant Molecular Genetics and Genomics 2004 UT-Austin

– Dolan DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory


• Genomics: From Mendel to Microchips

– UC-DAVIS NSF Workshop 2005


• Summer Fellowship at Pfizer St. Louis 2006


• FAS – Ireland’s Bio Manufacturing Training Facility, Carrigaline, County Cork, Ireland

2008


• NSF BIO Manufacturing Conference and Workshops, July 2008 & 2010


• Bio-Link Summer Fellows Forum


STLCC Biotechnology Program

Curriculum


COURSES CREDIT HOURS

ENG:101 College Composition I 3

COM:101 Oral Communication 3

MTH:160 College Algebra or higher 4

xxx:xxx Social Science Elective 3

xxx:xxx History Requirement (by State of MO) 3

PE:xxx Physical Education 2

PHL:109 Bio-Medical Ethics 3

GE:101 Technical Computer Applications 3

CHM:105 General Chemistry I 5

CHM:106 General Chemistry II 5

BIO:140 Principles of Biology I 4

BIO:104 Basic Laboratory Methods 3

BIO:152 Quantitative Methods in Biotechnology 2

BIO:218 Microbiology for Biotechnology 4

BIO:219 Biotechnology I 5

BIO:220 Biotechnology II 5

BIO:221 Work Place Learning: Biotechnology 3

BIO:225 Genetics 5

BIO:226 *Advanced Topics in Biotechnology (2 courses) 6

TOTAL 71

AAS DEGREE


COURSES CREDIT HOURS

BIO:104 Basic Laboratory Methods 3

BIO:219 Biotechnology I 5

BIO:220 Biotechnology II 5

BIO:226 *Advanced Topics in Biotechnology (2 courses) 6

TOTAL 19

CERTIFICATE OF SPECIALIZATION

CORE BIOTECH COURSES

Post Baccalaureate


Curriculum Approval can be slow…

• How do you keep pace with cutting edge topics and lab techniques?

– Special Problems Courses: stop gap measure


Advanced Topics in Biotech

• A single flexible course with a generic course description:

This lecture/laboratory course consists of current techniques used in biotechnology research and industry. Topics can include, but are not limited to, techniques from biomedical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, environmental, microbiological, bioprocessing, biocomputing, and/or bioethical aspects of biotechnology. Life science research and industry scientists will be employed as instructors. Additional lab hours required.



Advanced Topics in Biotechnology

• Forensics

• Proteomics

• QPCR

• Plant Transformation

• RNAi

• Bioprocessing


Advanced Topics

Forensics

Elizabeth Boedeker


Forensics

• Former Forensic Scientist with Illinois State Police (Chicago)

• Forensic Biologist

• Forensic DNA Analyst


Forensics

• General techniques

– In forensics

– Useful in many aspects of biotechnology/science

• Illustrate concepts and ideas

• Controls

– Their importance in science in general

– Their critical role in forensics


Forensics: DNA profile

• Almost half of time

• Process is long

– Buccal swabs from cheek

– DNA isolation and clean-up

• Phenol/chloroform extractions

• Spin column (microcon)


Forensics: DNA quantitation

• Electrophoresis

– Lambda DNA as standards

– Known quantities for comparison

• Human Alu Quantitative PCR

– Adapted from scientific literature

– Known quantities for comparison

– Highly accurate method


Forensics: PCR set-up

• Using quantitation from previous labs

• Target optimum amount of DNA

• PCR


Forensics: Capillary Electrophoresis

• PCR products

• Run instrument

• Assign allele calls, develop profile


Forensics: Summary

• Use techniques wide-spread in Biotech lab setting

• Apply critical troubleshooting and analysis skills

• Application-based learning universally applied


Advanced Topics

Introduction to Proteomics

Kevin Toal


Proteomics

The study of protein structure and function.

• mammalian cell culture

• protein biochemistry

– SDS-PAGE, western-blot, 2D-gel, imaging

– mass spectrometry basics

(Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Proteomics Laboratory)


Very Marketable

• Clinical

–Washington University School of Medicine

– Saint Louis University School of Medicine

• Protein expression and disease


Very Marketable

• Pharmaceutical

– Millipore, Pfizer, Sigma

• Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) function

• often mAbs; protein reagents

• Agriculture

– Monsanto

• Bt toxin


Proteomics Workflow

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/figures/1471-2105-7-430-1-l.jpg


Advanced Topics

Quantitative PCR

Elizabeth Boedeker


qPCR

• Adaptation to traditional PCR

• More widely used for expression analysis

– Previously Northern blot

• Time

• Quantity of material

• Not as straight-forward as originally thought


• Sample

– Quantitation

– INTEGRITY

• Especially for gene expression

• Frequently overlooked

• Exposure to numerous ways to measure

qPCR: Sample assessmentA Conc. 110 ng/ul

Ratio: 2.5

RIN: 10


• Different types of analysis methods

– ΔΔCt method

– Efficiency-corrected

– Some exposure to scientific literature

qPCR: Data Analysis


qPCR: Summary

• Actual lab work not that difficult

• Analysis methods/data processing can be complex

• Critical assessment of data essential


Advanced Topics

Plant Transformation

Kevin Toal


Plant TransformationProcess

www.nature.com/.../fig_tab/nbt0305-309_F1.html

Isolate gene of interest (GOI) and construct plasmidTransform plasmid into AgrobacteriumCo-cultivate bacterium with susceptible cells

from crop plantSelect for positive transformantsRegenerate cells to fertile plants and test for

GOI activity

http://www.nature.com/.../fig_tab/nbt0305-309_F1.html






Plant Transformation

Transgenic plant technology

Improved nutrition (“golden rice”; beta-carotene)

Insect resistance (Bacillus thuringiensis)

Disease resistance (tobacco mosaic virus)

Herbicide resistance (“Round-up-Ready®”)

Biopharmaceuticals (hGH, vaccine antigens, trypsin)

80% U.S. corn, soybean, and cotton crops are transgenic


“Plant-Ag Biotech”

St. Louis, MO has the largest number of plant PhDs per capita in the U.S.

STLCC has placed students as both interns and full-time employees at the following firms

– Monsanto

– Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

– Solae


Advanced Topics

RNA Interference (RNAi)

Elizabeth Boedeker


RNAi: Cutting Edge Technology

• Very new (less than 15 years) in Biotechnology

• Shakes previous ideas

• Fascinating regulatory mechanism


RNAi: Illustrating it

• Previous experience with Lentivirus-based systems

• Nematodes (C. Elegans)

– Many initial experiments

– Very nice teaching system

– Lots of variation for demonstration


RNAi: Illustrating it

• Cell culture based systems

– Use previously learned knowledge

– Add to them

• Transfection of cells

• Isolation of cellular materials for analysis– DNA

– RNA

– Protein


RNAi: Experimental Set-up

• Not straight-forward

• Controls Essential for interpretation

– Without proper controls

misinterpretation likely

– What are proper controls

– When it is not possible


RNAi: Summary

• One of today’s hot topics

• Concepts of the technology

• Exposure to literature surrounding RNAi

• Practical experience

– Previous exposure used in a new way

– Critical skills

• Controls

• Troubleshooting


Advanced Topics

Bioprocessing/Biomanufacturing

Kevin Toal


What is Bioprocessing?

The use of microorganisms, cells in culture, or enzymes to manufacture products


Bioprocessing at STLCC

Students trained in the theory and practice of:

– separating and purifying proteins, recombinant DNA products and monoclonal antibodies using HPLC (HIC, affinity, ion exchange).

– use of small-scale bioreactors (5 to 10 L scale)

– mammalian and insect cell culture


National Landscape

• Numerous graduate programs currently being developed in biomanufacturing and bioprocessing

• 2010 Georgia Institute of Technology

http://www.biomanufacturing.uga.edu/

http://www.biomanufacturing.uga.edu/


Bioprocessing Equipment

Small-scaleFermentor/Bioreactor


Bioprocessing Equipment

Waters HPLCBuck Scientific HPLC


Future Advanced TopicsBio-Medical Self-Assembled Nano-Monolayers

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)

Cell Culture


BIO-BENCH Contract Research Organization


What do we do?

• Researchers

– Academic institutions

• WUMS

• SLU

– Start-up companies

• GoldenSoy, LLC

• Theramind, LLC

• Others


Define Projects

• Work with individuals

• Help them to define

– Specific experiments they need

– Final results they are expecting

• Realistic expectations


Primary Goal

• Continue the education of our students

• Provide a more “real world” lab experience

– Defined project from client

– Not just “practice”

– Results are important

– Timelines


Secondary Goals

• Resource for area

– Lab space

– High end equipment/instruments

• Assistance

– Lab work


Bio-Bench CRO: Summary

• Education

– Internships for our students

– Requirement of our program

– Real lab experience

• Resource

– Valuable to the area

– Personnel and instrumentation


Scholarships• NSF S-STEM Grant


St. Louis Stem Scholars Academy –The S3 Academy

• Increased the number of academically talented but financially needy students who receive associate degrees in biotechnology, chemical technology, computer science, engineering science, engineering technology


The S3 Academy

• Built a community of S3 scholars

• Improved academic success for S3 Academy students

• Facilitated transfer of S3 Academy graduates into employment or baccalaureate programs

• Strengthened partnerships between STLCC-FV and educational institutions and relevant business and industry.


Thank you for your attention.


Questions?


Documents

2010 STEMtech Conference - STLCC.eduusers.stlcc.edu › departments › FVSMET › STEMtech_2010.pdf · Bioprocessing at STLCC Students trained in the theory and practice of: –separating