Expanding access to careers in fields like bioprocessing can require bridging a gap in understanding what opportunities are available. Through the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)’s Bridges to the Stem Cell Research program, students at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) are gaining valuable access at Keck Graduate Institute to learn about the biotechnology industry.
For the past few years, KGI has served as a host site for the Bridges program, providing hands-on workshops to several CSUSB students and hosting students for research internships in Associate Professor of Bioprocessing Gargi Ghosh’s lab.
“We appreciate CIRM’s support of this important initiative in creating pathways for students in critical fields,” said President Mohamed Abousalem. “The program reflects KGI’s commitment to cultivating the next generation of biotechnology and healthcare leaders, including experiencing our distinctive and deep integration with industry — enabling students to engage directly with individuals and organizations making an impact locally and globally.”
Earlier this month, some of the CSUSB CIRM Bridges students returned to KGI for the annual Amgen Bioprocessing Center Advisory Board (ABCAB) Symposium, providing an opportunity for the students to immerse themselves in the bioprocessing space and connect with KGI students and industry partners.
“It is amazing that KGI has so many relationships to companies that are in the industry and related to biotech,” said Elizabeth Abouchian, a CSUSB student who is in the CIRM Bridges program and attended the ABCAB Symposium. “It gives an amazing opportunity to the students to network with these companies where it might be difficult in other environments for you to be able to connect with someone related to that company. That is something really cool about KGI that I like about it.”
“For the past two to three years, CSUSB students enrolled in the CIRM Bridges and CIRM COMPASS programs are coming to the Amgen Bioprocessing Center at KGI to gain hands-on experience in the biomanufacturing of biologics, including stem cells in an industry-relevant setting,” said Ghosh.
“This collaboration with CSUSB ensures that the students receive integrated training and foundational scientific preparation at CSUSB and immersive industry-relevant bioprocessing experience at KGI. This collaboration helps preparing them to contribute effectively to the regenerative medicine workforce.”
The CIRM Bridges program provides 12-month research internships to students at universities and colleges that don’t have stem cell research programs of their own. Nicole Bournias-Vardiabasis, professor and director of the CIRM Bridges grant at CSUSB, stated that the access to industry partners is what sets KGI apart for the CSUSB students as they engage with other institutions.
“You look at the poster session and you listen, and everybody has a connection,” said Bournias-Vardiabasis. “I was speaking with two KGI students at the poster session and I told them I want to know why you are here, how did you make it here today — and it was about the industry connections. You come here because you value that.”
As the CSUSB students continue to contemplate their biotechnology and research career paths, they said experiencing KGI in the summer workshop and at the ABCAB Symposium has been eye-opening to them.
“Being able to have a place where people can be trained in biotechnology techniques, it’s very valuable experience, said Michael Zapeda, a CSUSB student and CIRM Bridges fellow. “To be able to say ‘yeah, I worked in an Amgen lab,’ that’s a big deal for people that want to work in the industry.”