Elaine's participation emphasizes the importance of community college programs for the biotechnology industry. The new coordinator of Contra Costa's program is Jeanne Wiegand who previously was Research Specialist at Chiron Corporation. The money will be used to develop new courses, buy modern equipment, and offer an associate in science degree in biotechnology. De Anza currently offers a certificate of achievement program in biotechnology that takes nine months to complete for students who have taken the core science courses. The training includes a number of highly technical courses based on integration of molecular genetics, protein chemistry, cell culture, and applications of modern instrumentation.
Students also do a three month internship in the biotechnology industry.
Five students presented their original, independent research at the Bay Area Science Seminar last spring. Christine Case, who coordinates biotechnology for Skyline, was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Society for Industrial Microbiology. Students from Vista College's Biotechnology Program interned at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory this past summer along with students from other community colleges. Vista students learned laboratory techniques that supplemented what they learned in their college classes. A highlight of the internship was discussing science with Nobel laureate Glenn Seaborg .