| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Norman Smit |
| Date: June 4, 2004 | (919) 807-7181 |
Golden LEAF approves NCCCS BioNetwork Grants
Goldsboro: The North Carolina biotech funding tap has been given another turn. The Golden LEAF Board met today (June 3, 2004) in Goldsboro and approved 29 North Carolina Community College grants totaling about $4.3 million.
NCCCS President Martin Lancaster said " the Golden LEAF support for BioNetwork has been critical to the development of a comprehensive program to train and retrain the workforce of North Carolina for it’s biotech future." He went on to say, "the approval of the grants is an important step forward in the ongoing stimulus and support of the state’s transition to 21st Century industrial development."
The action by Golden LEAF comes at an important time on the biotech calendar – this weekend, BIO 2004, the largest international biotech conference begins in San Francisco. North Carolina presently ranks third in biomanufacturing in the USA and is sending a strong delegation to BIO 2004. BioNetwork is part of that contingent and President Lancaster is an invited speaker at the conference. Today’s decision by Golden LEAF will further strengthen the Community College System’s ability to provide the state’s world class biotech workforce and help BioNetwork meet the growing employment and job-creation needs of the existing biotech and life sciences industry in North Carolina.
"This development will not be overlooked by industry at BIO 2004", says Susan Seymour, BioNetwork Director. "Having a pool of trained workers for this industry is one of the critical elements considered when deciding where to locate a biomanufacturing facility. This initiative should further help North Carolina in this regard," she said. Surveys show that as many as 370 new products are in the final phases of clinical trials in the USA and manufacturing capacity is saturated and as a result companies will need to plan new biomanufacturing plants. The Golden LEAF funding will also help the NC Community Colleges teaching biotech curricula to meet existing biotech job demand, which is steadily growing.
The approval by Golden LEAF means Community Colleges will be able to begin setting up six centers as well as start buying biotech equipment for laboratories, and develop curricula for industry workforce training.
The centers that will be created are:
The BioNetwork Central Learning Center
The BioProcessing Center
The General Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Center
The Agricultural Biotechnology Center
The Continuing Education and Short Course Development Center
And, the Biotech Enterprise Catalyst, Business Incubation and Related BioLinked
Industries Center.
All of these centers will develop expertise, curricula and specialized training within their field of responsibility and then share it state-wide with the community college system. This makes BioNetwork a cost-effective, efficient way of developing biotech workforce training throughout North Carolina. These centers will act as hubs of specialized expertise for the entire NCCCS, monitor industry trends and benchmark practices, take the lead in developing new courses or enhance existing curricula, and market the programs to students and employers in collaboration with the Central BioNetwork Office.
The centers will leverage expertise and share it throughout the NC community college system.
The BioNetwork Central Learning Center will be run by a consortium. This center is at the dedicated community college space at the planned Biotechnology Training & Education Center, or BTEC, on the Centennial Campus at NC State University. This will also be the home-based scheduling center for the BioNetwork Mobile Laboratory, already dubbed the BioNetworkBus. The consortium comprises community colleges from the Research Triangle Region. Wake Technical Community College, which is the lead institution, will be joined by Central Carolina Community College, Durham Technical Community College, Johnston Community College, Piedmont Community College, Sandhills Community College, and Vance-Granville Community College. Together they will manage, operate and deliver specialized community college training and education services at the pilot plant training facility planned at the BTEC. The community colleges will provide industry-scale, capstone, hands-on training at the BTEC in a fashion that will be a first in the USA. Golden LEAF approved $1,115,817 for the BioNetwork Central Learning Center.
Pitt Community College was approved to host the Bioprocessing Center, which will specialize in biomanufacturing technologies using fermentation cell culture and other associated processes. Its grant award is $320,000.
Forsyth Technical Community College and Guilford Technical Community College were approved for the General Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Center and will share the $320,000 grant. This center will be responsible for developing expertise in clean room skills, sterile techniques, fill and finish operations, general biotechnology bench techniques and pharmaceutical skills, including introductory Quality Assurance/Quality Control, validation, and GMP/SOP.
Robeson Community College will receive the grant for the Agricultural Biotech Center. The grant award is for $320,000. This center will develop expertise in animal and plant applications used in medicine, food safety, farming and environmental impacts; forestry biotechnology for sustainability of forests and production of superior wood products using molecular markers; vegetative propagation enhancements and genetic modifications of forest tree species; and, marine biotechnology using latest breakthroughs in molecular biology, genetic engineering and cell science discovering organisms that heal wounds, destroy tumors, prevent inflammation, relieve pain and kill microorganisms.
The board also decided on two Centers that will concentrate on building critical capacities with community colleges to support all aspects of biotechnology workforce development across the state.
One of the two is the Continuing Education and Short Course Development Center. This center will create and update employer-driven and continuing education and training products, including BioWork. It will lead the conversion of non-credit short courses into optional credit modules. And, it will develop validated industry-acceptable credentials and certifications for community college education programs. The college that will host this center is Gaston College and the grant was for the full $320,000.
The second functional center grant winner is Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, which will host the Biotech Enterprise Catalyst, Business Incubation and Related BioLinked Industries Center. The grant is for $320,000. This center will assist small biotechnology enterprises through incubation and support services, and develop entrepreneurial skills. It will also develop an accelerated course in the special business and production conditions required to work with biotechnology companies. Programs are aimed at acquiring non-technical personnel, suppliers, service providers and faculty with a better understanding of the industry.
The funding tap is not fully open yet, however. Each of the grant winners will need to submit for approval to the BioNetwork Central Office additional detailed documentation outlining management plans, activity evaluations, timelines, and other related matters specific to the projects. The Central Office will liaise with Golden LEAF about the roll-out of the initiatives across the state. This process will begin in the next two weeks.
The panels that reviewed the proposals submitted to the North Carolina Community College System BioNetwork comprised members of the Golden LEAF staff, the State Board of Community Colleges, industry leaders, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and Community College System Office staff.
In addition to the centers, a number of innovation and also equipment enhancement awards were also made. A total of $4,386,129 was awarded. All of the funding today forms part of the $8.7 million announced by Golden LEAF in 2003 and is not new or additional funding.
They are as follows:
Biotechnology Innovation Fund:
These grants will be used for, amongst other
things, updating or creating new curricula, faculty development opportunities,
student recruitment and retention strategies and initiatives to expand outreach
and access to rural areas. A total of $339,288 was awarded.
Proposal: Alamance Community College
Project Title: "Beyond BioWork": the production of Six
"Fast Track" modules for GMP, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Basic Cell
Culture Techniques, Bioinformatics, Basic Microbiological Techniques,
Biotechnology Career Exploration
Funding: $50,747
Proposal: Cape Fear Community College
Project Title: Development for Online Marine Biology Course
Funding: $13,365
Proposal: Central Carolina Community College
Project Title: Development of Specialized Courses in Bioprocessing
Systems for the Industrial Systems Technology Curriculum
Funding: $38,131
Proposal: Davidson County Community College
Project Title: Enhance BioWork Course for Hybrid Distance Learning Format
Funding: $60,000
Proposal: Guilford Technical Community
College
Project Title: Development of Good
Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Training Courses
Funding: $47,093
Proposal: Lenoir Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology in Local
Schools (BILS): Establishment Of Biotechnology Training Program for
Middle School and High School Science Teachers and Students
Funding: $13,720
Proposal: Richmond Community College
Project Title: Aquaculture Technologies:
Freshwater Bioagriculture
Funding: $5,000
Proposal: Southeastern Community
College
Project Title: Development of Agriculture
Biotechnology Curriculum
Funding: $45,000
Proposal: Vance-Granville Community College
Project Title: Biomanufacturing Course
Development: Fermentation Technology and BioSeparation Methods
Funding: $23,000
Proposal: Wake Technical Community College
Project Title: Creation of New Applied
Science Degree in Packaging Engineering Technology
Funding $43,232
Biotechnology Equipment and Related Facility
Enhancement Fund: These funds will be used to purchase new or
used equipment, laboratory supplies, upgrade outdated equipment, improve
facilities and upfit existing community college space for newly acquired
equipment needed for hands-on training. Construction of new buildings or
building additions isn’t permissible. A total of
$1,271,024 was awarded.
Proposal: Cape Fear Community College
Project Title: Equipment for Incorporation of Gel
Electrophoresis into the Chemical Technology Program
Funding $14,342
Proposal: Central Carolina Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Teach Downstream
Processing
Funding $84,200
Proposal: Haywood Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Enhance Training in
Forest Technology and Horticulture
Funding $133,092
Proposal: Johnston Community College
Project Title: Equipment for Chemistry
Laboratory for Associate Degree in Pre-Chemistry
Funding: $138,950
Proposal: Lenoir Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Enhance Science
Curriculum and BioWork
Funding: $83,479
Proposal: McDowell Technical Community College
Project Title: Laboratory Equipment for BioWork
and Facility Enhancements for Laboratory Utilities.
Funding: $75,000
Proposal: Nash Community College
Project Title: Equipment Required to Enhance
Existing Biology Program
Funding: $74,000
Proposal: Piedmont Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology Equipment
Enhancement (BEE): Enhanced Laboratory Technology Program
Funding $56,000
Proposal: Robeson Community College
Project Title: Facility Enhancement to Support
Agricultural Biotechnology
Funding: $185,950
Proposal: Sampson Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Enhance
BioAgricultural (Animal Applications) Training
Funding: $163,811
Proposal: Surry Community College
Project Title: Equipment for Agricultural
Programs such as Viticulture
Funding: $110,000
Proposal: Vance-Granville Community College
Project Title: Equipment for Fermentation
Technology Training
Funding: $56,700
Proposal: Wilson Technical Community College
Project Title: Enhancement of Facility to
Increase Laboratory Space
Funding: $95,500
For further information, contact:
| Susan Seymour | Released by: | NCCCS BioNetwork |
| NCCCS BioNetwork Director | Norman Smit | 5003 Mail Service Center |
| (919) 807-7155 | NCCCS BioNetwork Marketing Director | Raleigh, NC 27699-5003 |
| seymours@nccommunitycolleges.edu | smitn@nccommunitycolleges.edu | (919) 807-7181 |
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