Announcing: Stem Cells in the 4th Dimension—Mechanisms of Stem Cell Aging and Maturation

Image courtesy of Carlos Marti-Figueroa, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Image courtesy of Carlos Marti-Figueroa, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin, Madison

On April 13th, the BTC Institute and Promega Corporation will host the 11th Annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium — Stem Cells in the 4th Dimension: Mechanisms of Stem Cell Aging and Maturation.

Our co-coordinators at the UW-Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center have put together an outstanding list of presenters, including leading researchers who are investigating the effects of aging on stem cell populations and their progeny and recapitulating aging mechanisms in vitro to mature human stem cell derivatives and transplants.

The morning session will review systemic and cell autonomous factors known to impact stem cell maturation, aging and senescence. The afternoon session will focus on using these approaches and understanding to develop in vitro models of matured, stem cell-derived neural, cardiac, and pancreatic cells and tissues for regenerative medicine applications.

HIGHLIGHTED ISSUES:

  • Endocrine, micro-RNA, epigenetic, and metabolic regulators of aging
  • Systemic regulators elucidated by parabiosis
  • Treatment of age-related stem cell dysfunction
  • In vivo and in vitro models of neural, musculoskeletal, cardiac, and pancreatic tissue maturation

Continue reading “Announcing: Stem Cells in the 4th Dimension—Mechanisms of Stem Cell Aging and Maturation”

Summer 2016: Exciting Science Programs for Kids at the BTC Institute!

First, a quick update: Hard to believe, but we’re in our 21st academic year at the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute).  February finds us immersed in our usual second semester offerings.  Our Biotechnology Field Trips program is on the way to record attendance, but it’s not too late for you to schedule a visit for this spring, or for a group this summer: btci blog photo 2http://www.btci.org/k12/bft/bft.html.

We’re also pleased to report that work site mentors have been found for almost all of the juniors and seniors enrolled in the State of Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship Program in Biotechnology – Dane County (http://www.btci.org/k12/yap/yap.html).

Now, let’s turn our attention to Summer 2016.  We’re excited to once again offer great opportunities for upper elementary, middle and high school students to engage in activities that will allow them to explore their interests in the life sciences – and to learn a lot along the way. And, it’s not too soon to think about summer! Here’s a rundown of what’s in store: Continue reading “Summer 2016: Exciting Science Programs for Kids at the BTC Institute!”

Welcome to Your Biotechnology Field Trip at the BTC Institute!

BTCI provides our students an opportunity that they could never get in the classroom.
—Jim Geoffrey, Biology Teacher, Kaukauna High School

Kaukauna High School students arrive at the BTC for a biotechnology fieldtrip.
Kaukauna High School students arrive at the BTC for a biotechnology fieldtrip.

Your bus has arrived and parked in the circular driveway at the front of the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center on the Promega Corporation campus in Fitchburg, WI. Your BTC Institute hosts – and instructors – for your field trip are Barbara Bielec (K-12 Program Director) and Ryan Olson (Biotechnology Instructor). They’ll greet you in the Atrium and direct you to a conference room where you can leave coats and backpacks, and then to the lab you’ll be working in during your visit.

Here’s a taste of what happened next for students from Random Lake High School and Wonewoc High School on December 3rd, and from Kaukauna High School on December 4th.

Continue reading “Welcome to Your Biotechnology Field Trip at the BTC Institute!”

Support Young Scientists: Mentors Needed for Dane County Biotechnology Youth Apprentices

I moved back to Madison from the east coast last September and I have to say it’s been really great being back in the Midwest… the Youth Apprenticeship Program opened doors to opportunities for me that may never have existed if I had not participated in the program. It established the foundation of my entire resume throughout college, which was crucial to the genetic counseling application process. — Kristin Gunderson, Genetic Counselor, Carbone Cancer Center (Kristin worked in the lab of Dr. Deane Mosher, UW School of Medicine Public Health, under the mentorship of Dr. Bianca Tomasini-Johannson and is a 2006 high school graduate.)

Yang Chen, 2015 graduate, at her worksite in the lab of Dr. Xuehua Zhong, UW-Madison Department of Genetics; mentor: Dean Sanders. Yang is currently a freshman at UW-Madison, majoring in microbiology.
Yang Chen, 2015 graduate, at her worksite in the lab of Dr. Xuehua Zhong, UW-Madison Department of Genetics; mentor: Dean Sanders. Yang is currently a freshman at UW-Madison, majoring in microbiology.

OK, we are not going to be shy about it: We need any assistance our readers may be able to provide to help us find additional mentors for high school juniors and seniors who are enrolled in the Dane County Youth Apprenticeship Program in Biotechnology.

The good news is that there are 32 students who have elected to participate in the program, given their strong interests in the life sciences and in particular, biotechnology. They represent 14 public high schools in the area. They (1) complete all necessary classes for graduation; (2) attend a hour-hour intensive laboratory course at the BTC Institute from 4:30–8:30pm on Wednesdays; and, (3) work in laboratory settings throughout the community.  (For details, please visit: http://www.btci.org/k12/yap/yap.html) Continue reading “Support Young Scientists: Mentors Needed for Dane County Biotechnology Youth Apprentices”

Building Community: Outreach through BTC Institute Courses and Activities

Students in the Core Techniques in Protein and  Genetic Engineering Course (photo credit BTCI)
Students in the Core Techniques in Protein and Genetic Engineering Course (photo credit BTCI)

One of the questions that Promega has always asked of itself is “How can a company really become a vital part of its community over the long term, making truly valuable and unique contributions that foster deep connections to local communities where it exists?”  Lately we have formalized that with our Corporate Responsibility Report, but this question has always been a part of our corporate culture, long before such thinking was popular or “en vogue”.

In 1993 Promega helped to begin the nonprofit educational outreach institution, the BTC institute, this long-term commitment to the local community has grown throughout the 22 years to become an integral part of the local Wisconsin educational community and serve as a model for global partners as well. Here are a few thoughts from the Karin Borgh, the Executive Director of BTC Institute, about how it has managed to work toward a vision of being a vital, contributing member of the community. Continue reading “Building Community: Outreach through BTC Institute Courses and Activities”

Explorations into the Body of Consciousness: Highlights from Dr. Charles Raison’s talk from the International Forum on Consciousness

Forum attendees have dinner with speakers.
Forum attendees have dinner with speakers.

The following blog highlights the presentation from Dr. Charles Raison at the International Forum on Consciousness, Conscious Evolution: The Awakening, co-hosted by the BTC Institute and Promega Corporation, May 7–8, 2015.

The Forum is designed to bring together people from diverse perspectives and professions to facilitate public dialogue regarding complex and challenging issues.  This year, our intent was to respond to voices of wisdom and action that call for us to shift our consciousness up a notch.

Our goals included building on the lessons of past and present in order to grow further into new systems, new ways of being that may better allow us to foster a long-term, sustainable relationship with the biosphere and the ever-evolving cosmos.

A full house of 325+ attendees, we were guided by eight outstanding presenters, all of whose talks and panel discussions may be viewed via links from our website (http://www.btci.org/consciousness/).   Our first speaker, Dr. Charles Raison, who recently joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin , effectively set the stage for the Forum, piquing interest for the talks and discussions that followed, as well as the many related conversations that continue to flow.

A few highlights from his talk:

  • Science strives for objectivity but every scientist has a personal motivation regarding the work they’ve come to do.
  • Quoting John Muir, “When we try to pick out anything by itself we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” Looking at consciousness this way is interesting – not mystical, but actually scientific.

Continue reading “Explorations into the Body of Consciousness: Highlights from Dr. Charles Raison’s talk from the International Forum on Consciousness”

Integrative Neurosciences: Exploring Consciousness

neuronal signalingIn a world of tangible atoms and molecules, the existence of consciousness is still regarded as a mystery. Many themes related to the nature of consciousness and the meaning of conscious evolution will be explored at this year’s International Forum on Consciousness to be held May 7-8 in Fitchburg/Madison, Wisconsin. Hosted by the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute) and Promega Corporation, an internationally renowned group of presenters will share their thoughts and experiences as they discuss how we may actively participate in shaping our collective future.

consciousness header

Across the two-day Forum, presentations include:

  • Explorations into the Body of Consciousness (Charles Raison, M.D.)
  • Conscious Evolution: Our Next Stage (Barbara Marx-Hubbard)
  • Self-Awareness (Peter Russell, M.A., D.C.S.)
  • WHAT TO REMEMBER WHEN WAKING: The Art of Shaping the Beautiful Question (David Whyte)
  • Is There a Neurobiology of Collective Unconscious? (Joy Hirsch, Ph.D.)
  • What Could Be an Awakened Response to Our World? (Vanja Palmers)
  • Awakening the Sacred Within (Adele Getty)
  • Who is Awakening? What Does it Mean to be Awake? (Brother David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B.)

Continue reading “Integrative Neurosciences: Exploring Consciousness”

Announcing the 10th Annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium: Engineering Limb Regeneration

Image courtesy of James Monaghan, Ph.D., Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Image courtesy of James Monaghan, Ph.D., Northeastern University, Boston, MA

On April 22, 2015, the BTC Institute and Promega Corporation will host the 10th Annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium — Engineering Limb Regeneration: Recapitulating Normal Development and Regeneration? Our colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have put together an outstanding list of presenters who will address advances – and challenges – associated with this field of research.
Continue reading “Announcing the 10th Annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium: Engineering Limb Regeneration”

Reflecting on the Future: Hands-On, Person-to-Person Educational Experiences

iStock_000053412884LargeThe start of a new year is always a good time for reflection.  For those of us at the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute), this means looking at the programs we offer and considering ones we might like to develop.

In this process, we find ourselves continuing to feel certain that the hands-on, lab-based opportunities we provide add something meaningful to the education of those we serve, from middle school students and their teachers to graduate students to scientists in academia and industry.  The value of learning concepts and techniques in a well-equipped setting, working with teachers and volunteers who are dedicated scientists, is significant.

In addition to gaining an understanding of the basics of molecular biology so key to biotechnology, these programs are also designed to support the development of critical thinking skills so necessary to scientific literacy.

We think this is also the case for our scientific symposia (Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium; Wisconsin Human Proteomics Symposium) and our International Forum on Consciousness.  These events enable attendees to interact with speakers and other participants in person – in an environment designed to encourage the exchange of information, ideas and perspectives. Continue reading “Reflecting on the Future: Hands-On, Person-to-Person Educational Experiences”

Career Development for Working Professionals: UW Master of Science in Biotechnology Program

Prior to the Masters in Biotechnology program, I had no working knowledge of Intellectual Property (IP), e.g., patents, trademarks, etc. The M.S. in Biotechnology program not only opened my eyes to Intellectual Property and its importance in biotechnology companies, but it sparked my interested in a career in an IP field. From the knowledge I gained and connections made in the program, I have been able to achieve a career in IP. I am now happy to be able to share my experience and knowledge with current and future students in the program.
—Heather Gerard, M.S. (2006) Intellectual Property Manager, Promega Corporation

Since 2002, the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute) has been effectively collaborating with the UW Master of Science in Biotechnology Program (MS-Biotechnology) to provide the three lab-based Molecular Technologies courses for this unique degree designed for working professionals.

As noted on the program’s web site, it offers:

  • A curriculum like no other that integrates topics in science, business and law
  • Powerful skills that bring the “big picture” of life science product development into clear focus
  • Exclusive evening/weekend courses allowing you to work full-time while enrolled, and
  • A completed degree in less than two years

Continue reading “Career Development for Working Professionals: UW Master of Science in Biotechnology Program”