Focus Track Fridays: Bioprocessing

Future of Bioprocessing Education and Mammalian Cell Biotechnology and Bioseparations

It was 'standing room only' this past Friday when KGI faculty and staff invited industry professionals to campus in order to showcase the KGI bioprocessing curriculum. This event not only served to receive feedback on how to improve the program to better meet industry needs, but also to create networking opportunities for current students. The day was filled with curriculum overviews by professors of bioprocessing courses including Business Operations and Fundamentals of Commercial Biotech Operations as well as presentations from KGI students and alumni working in bioprocessing either in their industry work or Team Masters Projects. Ample time between presentations allowed for questions and suggestions from distinguished guests including members of KGI’s Amgen Bioprocessing Center Advisory Board (ABCAB).

Alumni currently working at prestigious companies including Amgen and Genentech returned to speak with students, present on their current roles in industry as KGI graduates, and to hear about the development of KGI’s bioprocessing focus track. Dan Abramzon (MBS 2007) returned to inform students, staff, and guests of his experiences as a Master Production Planner at Genentech. As one of the first students to complete the bioprocessing focus track, Dan could appreciate the improvements highlighted in faculty presentations.

"I'm pleased to see all the change here. I'm actually kind of jealous and thinking about a second pass."

Current students enjoyed the chance to speak with alumni and consequently gain an appreciation for the unique learning opportunity available to them in KGI’s Bioprocessing focus track. Mimi Nguyen (MBS 2012) comments:

“The students as well as the guests were excited to hear from various speakers and get input about what KGI should try to address in bioprocessing. It was great to see how successful the program has been and how it's changed over the years when talking to alumni.”

Focus Track Fridays are a recent initiative oriented to provide KGI students with yet another avenue for industry contact. KGI’s strong ties with industry through our Advisory Council, Board of Trustees, and ABCAB are a tremendous asset that distinguishes KGI from other Professional Science Masters programs. Perspective student, Andrew Vo calls attention to this asset in describing his experience at this event.

“The best part of the day was the networking experience not only with current students and alumni, but also with industry professionals. One of the many reasons why I chose KGI as my top grad school was because of its abundant industry affiliations and support. It is great to know that there are so many advisors from industry helping to guide the school's ever-evolving curriculum.”

By Christina Lai (MBS '11)