A select group of high school students from the Bryan/College Station and Austin areas will this summer have the opportunity to train with scientists from The Texas A&M University System while learning about careers in the biosciences and pharmaceutical industries as part of a series of academies sponsored by the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing (NCTM).
NCTM is a center in the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), an engineering research agency of the State of Texas and a member of the A&M System.
The summer academies, known as BioFORCE, are scheduled for June 9-13 and July 15-18 and are intended to spark students’ interest in pursuing careers in engineering and therapeutics manufacturing. As part of the camps, students participate in a range of activities, including making bacterial cells glow by introducing genes from a bioluminescent jellyfish and touring pharmaceutical companies in the area and in Houston.
"By role-playing as a lab technician, gowning up and doing hands-on projects as well as actually seeing this workforce in action, students get early exposure to careers in pharmaceutical research, engineering and manufacturing - an exciting and growing field," says Jenny Ligon, NCTM assistant director.
The BioFORCE Residential Academy will host 25 students from Austin-area high schools and the BioFORCE Day Academy will host 25 students from Bryan-College Station high schools, all who have just completed the ninth grade. Scholarship funding from the Texas Workforce Commission’s Summer Merit Program allows these academies to be free of charge to the students.
NCTM is a first-of-its-kind, multidisciplinary workforce education institution and biopharmaceutical manufacturing center, located at Texas A&M. NCTM’s workforce development mission is to provide education, training and outreach programs to produce a highly skilled workforce for the vital U.S. and global pharmaceutical industry.
For more information, please visit BioForce website or contact Jenny Ligon, NCTM assistant director, at (979) 847-5852 or via email at jennyligon@tamu.edu.