News and Events

BIOTECH COMES TO BELLINGHAM THANKS TO MASSBIOED

April 6, 2009   |  

by Lynnea Olivarez

 

Nearly 90 Bellingham High School students gathered in January for an interactive presentation about forensics, made possible by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation’s (MBEF) BioTeach and Life Science Career Development (LSCD) grant programs. 

Jim Jabbour, who has 30 years of experience in law enforcement as an investigator, detective and police inspector, came to Bellingham with fingerprints three feet high and a mock-up crime scene. 

“From a high school perspective, bringing a speaker in is a win-win situation,” said Joan Meilan, a career specialist at Bellingham High School. “One, it’s cost effective, and two, it’s time effective.” 

As a career specialist, Meilan helps students find internships and part-time jobs in addition to helping them explore career possibilities. Bellingham has been awarded a total of $22,400 in grant money from MassBioEd over the past two years. 

Bellingham High School received its first BioTeach grant of $8,800 during the 2007-2008 school year. This year, BioTeach provided the high school with an additional $600. 

MassBioEd runs BioTeach, an ambitious teacher professional development program designed to support biotechnology instruction and career awareness activities. For schools receiving the initial BioTeach grant, MassBioEd provides up to $8,800 in biotechnology laboratory equipment, supplies and consumables in year one, with re-supply lab materials of up to $1,000 in year two and $500 in year three.  

Bellingham High School also received a Life Science Career Development (LSCD) Initiative Award for the 2007-2008 school year in the amount of $7,000, as well as an additional $6,000 this school year. 

The LSCD competitive grant is available to schools that have received the BioTeach grant. The LSCD Program supports the development of academic, personal and employability skills for students pursuing careers in the life sciences and the biotechnology field at the post-secondary level.  

“These grants are a perfect complement to what I’m already doing,” Meilan said. 

During two separate hour-and-a-half presentations, Jabbour engaged 40 juniors who had previously shown interest in biotechnology and 49 sophomores completely new to the program, during time they would have otherwise spent in biology class. 

“I was invited to do a guest lecture at Bellingham High School last year, when I presented a lecture on forensic science and did a mock crime scene with the students,” Jabbour said. 

His lecture was such a success that, in January, program organizers invited Jabbour back to the high school for an expanded, more in-depth version of his presentation. 

Jabbour, who has done similar presentations at other Massachusetts high schools and puts on a summer forensics camps for students, introduces his audience to potential career possibilities, including forensic pharmacists, dentists and nurses, in the forensic science field, he said. 

“The reactions are always positive, and it’s my job, although I enjoy it, to keep [students] as interested as possible in my lectures and in my presentations,” Jabbour said. 

In an evaluation of his presentation, the majority of Bellingham sophomores in attendance said Jabbour sparked their interest in pursuing a science-related career. Additionally, students unanimously agreed that Jabbour helped them gain a better understanding of what biotechnology is. 

In a time when the biotechnology industry is in great need of a new generation of trained professionals, Jabbour is helping to fill that gap. 

“There are so many programs that the students should be exposed to that they may not be exposed to if the BioTeach program wasn’t available,” he said. 

Meilan agreed that the MassBioEd Foundation has provided students access to biotech-related opportunities. 

“Besides the financial resources – which are phenomenal – it’s the company connections that are beneficial,” Meilan said, referring to the Foundation’s contacts at corporate sponsors, such as Genzyme and EMD Serono. The Foundation also helps schools better connect with industry through a new Speakers Bureau program and by facilitating job shadow experiences. 

Meilan said she hopes program organizers will utilize the remainder of Bellingham High School’s grant money by taking students interested in biotechnology on tours of colleges that offer life science or biotechnology-related degrees, as well as on tours of biotech companies. 

“(We hope) for students to become lifelong learners – to pursue these sciences that you might think have no benefit for you in high school,” Meilan said.

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