High School Students Explore Biotech Futures at Endicott
On Friday, October 13, 68 Massachusetts students from Masconomet Regional High School and Danvers High School participated in Biotech Futures, an event held at Endicott College and organized by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation (MassBioEd). Biotech Futures is a college and career exploration event that exposes students to the educational opportunities and diverse fields of study in the life sciences at the college level though hands-on laboratory experiences and campus tours.
“The future of the life sciences industry depends on companies’ ability to attract young, bright minds, which starts in the classroom and extends to the lab,” said Peter Abair, Executive Director of MassBioEd. “Biotech Futures helps increase students’ interest in collegiate-level science and engineering programs, showing them how their lab-based experiences translate to career opportunities in the industry. The excitement we saw from students at Endicott is a testament to the great work going on at the college and other academic institutions around Massachusetts.”
Not only were students able to tour Endicott’s Makerspace to see how prototypes of new product ideas can be built using 3D-printing and microcontrollers, they also had the opportunity to participate in ongoing experiments led by Endicott’s faculty. Students examined the anatomy and physiology of the knee by building 3D models, dissecting a virtual cadaver, and examining pressure on the knee during physical activity, and experimented with the Streptomyces bacteria that produces more than 70% of the world's antibiotics.
“Endicott is thrilled to start the annual tradition of welcoming Biotech Futures’ students to campus,” said Dr. Justin Topp, Assistant Dean of Science, Technology, and Mathematics at Endicott College. “We are proud of our growing programs in the life sciences and excited to provide a glimpse of what makes Endicott unique while sharing with high school students the wealth of opportunities available to them in biotechnology in the North Shore and Massachusetts. MassBioEd does a tremendous job of training teachers and inspiring future scientists and we look forward to partnering with them on more initiatives in the future.”
Biotech Futures is a component of MassBioEd’s BioTeach program, which provides lab-based training in biotechnology to 150 public high school science teachers each year, along with funds to public schools for lab supplies and equipment.
Visit MassBioEd to see how you can get involved: https://www.massbioed.org/get_involved