Biotechnology supports health care, food science and agriculture. This high-growth industry, however, needs trained professionals.
That’s where the University of Houston comes in.
UH’s Center for Life Sciences Technology (CLiST) in the College of Technology is preparing biotechnology professionals with innovative curricula, high school educators’ workshops and partnerships with industry leaders.
CLiST’s efforts have been rewarded by the National Science Foundation, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and the Office of the Governor. The TWC has been particularly supportive of CLiST, providing $1 million to aid in the development of a bachelor’s degree program in biotechnology. The new curriculum will is being developed in developed in collaboration with industry and academic partners. The courses will be connected through a common theme—researching a soil bacterium that encodes a pesticide-degrading gene, placing the program’s emphasis on environmental biotechnology.
“This approach will take the students right from the process of scientific discovery to its applications in biotechnology” says Dr. Rupa Iyer, Principle Investigator of the two major grants funding the program’s inception and Director of Biotechnology Programs. She adds, “To my knowledge; no other institution in Texas has done this at an undergraduate level”. Currently, University of Houston’s lab curriculum is being beta-tested by Purdue University and Brigham Young University, Hawaii.
To learn more, visit CLiST and UH biotechnology program websites.
