News and Events | Center for Biotechnology Education

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Biotechnology Education partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) to take part in the November 14th 2009 ‘Explorations in Biotechnology and Bioengineering’ at Johns Hopkins University’s Montgomery County Campus. The event was part of CTY’s Family Academic Programs Science and Technology Series.

CTY students and their families participated in a program that included:

• Lectures on cutting-edge research and developments in biotechnology from the fields of bioinformatics, molecular biology, and infectious diseases.
• Hands-on experiences using the modern tools and equipment of biotechnology in a high-tech modern wet laboratory.
• Bioinformatics exercises in the computer laboratory examining H1N1 viral nucleic acid sequences.

CTY Family Academic Programs are designed for CTY Talent Search participants and their families, with the intention of exposing talented students to the exciting range of possibilities included in a broad-based education and life-long learning program.

The Science and Technology Series is inspired by the daily advances in technology that affect our lives in countless ways. In these one-day programs, students and parents explore aspects of technology and science through hands-on workshops, demonstrations, and lectures led by pioneering scientists, mathematicians, and researchers.  For more information about the Center for Talented Youth visit their website, http://cty.jhu.edu

George Korch, PhD delivered the Keynote Presentation on "Pandemic Flu, Infectious Diseases, and You".

Students were able to learn about Bioinformatics in the computer lab with Robert Lessick, PhD, an instructor in the Advanced Biotechnology Studies Program.

In the Forensics workshops students were able to solve a crime comparing DNA from a crime scene and potential suspects.

Students had a chance to learn about Viral Diagnostics with Jennifer Colvin, the Director of Education and Workforce Programs at the MdBio Foundation and the MdBioLab on the Biotech Bus.
* Photographs were taken by Will Kirk, Homewood Photographic Services, Johns Hopkins University.

Students will work as fellows for a nonprofit science, technology and strategy organization while completing master’s degrees in bioinformatics.

Noblis and Johns Hopkins University (JHU) today announced a unique master’s fellowship that will use Noblis real-world research projects to educate and train a select pool of graduate students in the field of bioinformatics.

“Johns Hopkins University and Noblis share an interest in developing the workforce in the field of bioinformatics. This partnership will provide select students an opportunity to use the knowledge and skills that they have acquired in the classroom,” said Dr. Kristina Obom, senior associate program chair of Johns Hopkins’ Master of Science in Bioinformatics program.

“Noblis looks forward to the Johns Hopkins University students working side-by-side in the Noblis Computational Biology and Chemistry Facility,” said Dr. Catherine Campbell, principal molecular biologist at Noblis and principal investigator on this project. These students will help Noblis researchers to develop practical solutions to cutting-edge bioinformatics problems.

Selected JHU students will conduct research at Noblis in fulfillment of the requirements for the Independent Research Project (IRP) in the MS in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics masters programs at JHU. The students will conduct 35 hours of research each week during the semester. The students will present their work at the end of the semester and at the annual research symposium.

About JHU’s MS in Bioinformatics Program
Students in the MS in Bioinformatics program take five required core courses, four concentration courses, an elective from bioscience and an elective from computer science. The program draws upon the strengths of the Johns Hopkins’ Biotechnology and Engineering programs to create a rigorous and comprehensive bioinformatics curriculum. The program integrates computer science, biosciences and bioinformatics disciplines.

JHU’s MS in Bioinformatics program immerses students in the topics and applied methods of computational modeling, molecular biology, systems biology, structural biology, proteomics, genomic sequencing and genomic analysis, microarrays and microarray analysis. For more information, please visit www.biotechnology.jhu.edu.

About Noblis, Inc.
Noblis is a nonprofit science, technology and strategy organization that helps clients solve complex scientific, systems, process, and infrastructure problems in ways that benefit the public. Noblis brings the best of scientific thought, management, and engineering know-how in an environment of independence and objectivity to find solutions that are practical, forward thinking, and sustainable. Noblis works in essential areas, including national security and intelligence; transportation; healthcare; sustainability: energy, environment, and climate; and enterprise services. Further information is available at www.noblis.org.