Index

• March Monthly Luncheon
• 2006 Annual Conference Update
• Volunteers Needed to Meet World Class Scientists and Others
• BIO IT Coalition Best Practices Awards
• Encouraging K-12 students about careers in BIO IT
• Upcoming Regional Events of Interest
• Are You Receiving Invitations to Our Monthly Meetings?

March Monthly Luncheon

Signs of Life: DC Area Biotech Industry Developments

The Biotechnology industry is built on fundamental breakthroughs in the understanding of genetic and biological processes to develop new means of diagnosing and treating disease.  Biotechnology is at the heart of an important and fast-growing sector of the U.S. economy and has been the focal point of many local, regional and state economic development strategies.  In 2002, Dr. Heike Mayer was an author of Signs of life: The Growth of Biotechnology Centers in the U.S. for The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy

Dr. Mayer will join the BIO IT Coalition on March 15 to share her new research about the DC region and developments in the biotechnology industry. Do not miss this very special event!

Please join us on Wednesday March 15th, at the Arlington Economic Development in Alexandria, VA for our next Monthly Meeting. 

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2006 Annual Conference Update

Using Advanced Information Technologies to Develop Personalized Medicine/Healthcare

Finding cures for diseases that afflict humanity will result in healthy people and healthy economies and help fulfill the promise of the genomic revolution. This conference explores how a deep understanding of mechanisms and pathways of disease coupled with unique individual characteristics will evolve into personalized medicine through the convergence of IT, science and business. Creative business methods, better education of the life sciences workforce and advances in patient record management will accelerate the prevention, detection and cure of disease.

Anna Barker, Ph.D., Deputy Director for Strategic Scientific Initiatives, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, will present the capstone lecture "The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Future of Personalized Medicine."  The Atlas is a database of cancer research and clinical information that helps increase societal understanding of the molecular bases of cancer.  Dr. Barker develops programs to help increase discoveries to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.  She received her Ph.D. from Ohio State University where her research focused on immunology and microbiology and has won many awards for her contributions to the medical field.

View the conference Program Details for more information.

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Volunteers Needed to Meet World Class Scientists and Others

The BIO IT Coalition is looking for volunteers to help staff and run its May 4th & 5th Conference.  This is an excellent opportunity to meet and speak with some of the leading minds in science and research today. Volunteers will have the opportunity to attend the conference and reception free of charge and will also have opportunities to hand out their respective resumes to people from various industries who are attending the event.  Specific duties include, but are not limited to: helping at the registration desk, setting up the night before and day of the event, assisting attendees of the conference on the floor, personally assisting speakers, and making sure the flow of the conference proceeds efficiently and in a timely manner.

For more information, please contact John Carpenter at 704-477-0941 or elongrad2004@yahoo.com.

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BIO IT Coalition Best Practices Awards - May 4, 2006

Is your company or someone you know doing something amazing and innovative in Bio IT?  If so, please nominate them to receive the BIO IT Coalition Best Practices award.

Help cutting edge technologies:

• Gain Recognition
• Expand Awareness
• Build Interest in Funding
• Cultivate Alliances in the BIO IT Field

The BIO IT Coalition Best Practices of the Year Awards recognize individuals and companies for information technology/life science contributions that result in product innovation, growth opportunity, leadership, and increased funding for BIO IT industry endeavors.  Make a difference by submitting your nominations for one or more of our five categories: Business Catalyst, Company, Entrepreneur, Innovation, and Visionary of the Year.

Get your nominations in soon!  Time is running out

Remember the 2005 winners?

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Encouraging K-12 students about careers in BIO IT

The February Monthly Luncheon program led to the development of a task force for elevating programs for K-12 students about science, math and technology

Members of the life sciences and IT industries spoke with K-12 and college level educators and others about how to improve K-12 science and math education. Steve Mandell, chairman of the Coalition referenced a February 13, 2006 Time magazine article, "Are We Losing Our Edge," which started a discussion about American education and how to integrate technology into more effective programs of learning.

Small, open and relaxed groups were formed to address this issue. A range of ideas, knowledge, and concerns brought about these common themes:

• Improve science/math instruction in K-8 grade. High school is too late to start.
• Create more excitement about the topics of science, math, and technology.
• Careers in science, math, and technology must be more clearly defined.
• Students must see the breadth of science and math careers, so they don't create prejudices and fears to rule themselves out i.e. science/technology jobs aren't just for "nerds."
• Young girls should be encouraged to enjoy and have successes in science, math, and technology to bring more women into the fields.
• Elementary school teachers must be better educated in science and math so that they can teach their students.
• Summer camps and after-school programs should be developed to provide an interactive outreach learning experience for children.
• Educate parents to discuss science and math with their children at their child's interest and knowledge level.
• Teachers must learn how to teach today about future jobs that don't yet exist.
• Teachers must learn how to teach flexibility and the value of change.
• Teach students critical thinking skills.
• Provide more role models.
• Use popular science (such as the TV series CSI) and the media to increase interest in science, math and technology.
• What are the costs of testing to determine student capabilities and interests?  Are subjects learned or are they memorized and regurgitated and quickly forgotten in order to pass tests?

These small group discussions were intense and hard to stop. When the groups came back together, the discussion emphasized concerns such as:

• How to make math and science connect to student's interests.
• The problem of training teachers to teach this material properly.
• How to accept student's failures, since people learn so much through failure.
• How to increase student confidence so they don't avoid science and math.
• The 'corporatization' of education.
• The need for more cultural exchange in a global environment.

Joshua Strong, Division Manager, Science & Technology, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology spoke about a "tsunami of data" and the value of integrating technology into the science and math curriculum. He mentioned programs offered at Thomas Jefferson, such as a 9th grade "boot camp" to give students a team perspective on innovation.

Ann Palkovich, Ph.D., Department of Communication, George Mason University suggested that vertical teams of high schoolers, undergraduates, grad students, post doc's and professors could join in a University think tank program to work together in a multi-disciplinary effort to solve specific problems, sharpen critical thinking skills and create successes and mentorships.

As a result of these discussions, a K-12 education task force was created.  It will meet in early April to begin to develop new programs designed to teach students using an integrated approach to science, math, and technology.

For more information about the task force contact:  Eileen Mandell, 202-220-1402.

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Upcoming Regional Events of Interest

• Wednesday Evening - March 29, 2006, Washington, DC.  The BioMedTech Committee of the Northern Virginia Technology Council presents the "The Fifth Annual Human Genome Party."
• Monday & Tuesday - May 8 & 9, 2006, Willmington, DE.  Early Stage East presents its "ESE Venture Conference 2006". 

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Are You Receiving Invitations to Our Monthly Meetings?

If not, but you would like to, please send an E-mail with your contact information to mandelle@bioitcoalition.org with the phrase "Add" in the "Subject" field.

To be removed from the "BIO IT Coalition" mailing list, please send an Email to mandelle@bioitcoalition.org and write "Remove" in the "Subject Line."