| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Norman Smit |
| Date: December 3, 2004 | (919) 807-7181 |
Golden LEAF Board Approves BioNetwork Round II Grants
Raleigh - The Golden LEAF Board has approved unanimously a second round of grants for the North Carolina Community College biotechnology initiative, BioNetwork. Thirteen grants were approved Thursday totaling $1,136,242. The grants are for both curriculum and short course development for the biopharmaceutical industry as well as for equipment for community colleges statewide teaching for this industry. The equipment is necessary for BioNetwork community colleges to be able to provide the specialized, hands-on training needed for the growing biomanufacturing industry. A survey by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center shows that the existing biotech industry in North Carolina is growing by two thousand new jobs a year requiring training at the community college level.
BioNetwork received 22 proposals from North Carolina Community Colleges for Round Two in a competitive bid process. Panels comprising Golden LEAF, industry experts, the Biotechnology Center, the State Board, and BioNetwork reviewed the proposals and recommended 13 awards to the State Board of Community Colleges. The awards were approved by the State Board on November 19, 2004 and submitted to the Golden LEAF Board for their review and approval. The grant awards approved by Golden LEAF on 02 December, 2004 form part of the $8.7 million set aside by Golden LEAF for BioNetwork in 2003. Golden LEAF Senior Vice President Mark Sorrells commended the BioNetwork team for the management of the initiative. "This project is making good progress", he said. "It is attracting world-class Center staff members". Just two of the recent appointments include Dr Lin Wu, the Dean of the Capstone Center, who was the former COO of Fresenius Kabi, and Cheryl McMurry Shenaut, the Manager of the BioNetwork BioBusiness Center, who comes with extensive experience in biotechnology business development, commercialization and recruitment in the private and public sectors.
Some of the interesting projects the grants will fund range from laboratory equipment to teach recombinant DNA and cell biology capabilities, to upgrading laboratories to teach the short course, BioWork, which is needed to work as an entry-level process technician in the biomanufacturing industry. BioWork is taught only at NC Community Colleges and is offered during the day, in the evenings, and on weekends so that dislocated workers and career changers are able to both study and work part time. Another equipment grant is for agricultural biotechnology applications; and yet another for videoconferencing to extend BioNetwork's distance education capabilities. A complete list of the grants is at the end of this media release. Editors please note that Executive Summaries of these grants are available from BioNetwork should you need more information about grants in your readership/audience area.
Three of the grants are for innovations - curricula and short courses for the biotechnology industry. Fayetteville Community College is planning to use the fund for an internship program for biotechnology students, allowing them to obtain experience in industry and laboratories to enable them to gain skills that make them more employable. Gaston College will design two cross-disciplinary biotechnology science electives in distance education format for community colleges. Sampson Community College will use their grant to design a series of courses to ensure the safety of food products from livestock production systems' pathogens. These pathogens can result in disease, bacterial contamination or losses of food quality. These bioagricultural courses will use equipment secured under previous BioNetwork grants.
The remaining 10 grants are to equip and upgrade laboratories at community colleges offering biotech curricula across the state. The equipment will allow existing workers to upgrade their skills and the colleges to provide hands-on training to students wanting to work in the biomanufacturing industry.
The complete list of grants follows:
Golden LEAF Approved BioNetwork Grant Awards
Biotechnology Innovation Fund Grants
Proposal: Fayetteville Technical Community College Community College
Project Title: Working for the Future
Total: $30,000
Proposal: Gaston College
Project Title: Designing Electives to Support Biotechnology Programs
Total: $15,000
Proposal: Sampson Community College
Project Title: Biosecurity Innovation Fund Request
Total: $42,560
Total Recommended Innovation Awards $87,560
Biotechnology Equipment and Related Facility Enhancement Fund Grant Awards
Proposal: Alamance Community College
Project Title: Addition of 15-Liter Fermentor/Bioreactor to an existing
Biotechnology Program
Total: $114,000
Proposal: Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Project Title: A-B Tech Biotechnology Curriculum Laboratory Enhancement Project
Total: $150,000
Proposal: Central Carolina Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Teach Upstream Processing
Total: $124,000
Proposal: Durham Technical Community College
Project Title: Expanding an Organic Chemistry/Biotechnology Multipurpose Lab
Total: $88,000
Proposal: Fayetteville Technical Community College
Project Title: Development of a Training Package for BioNetwork
Total: $136,950
Proposal: Forsyth Technical Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology Equipment Expansion Project
Total: $150,000
Proposal: Piedmont Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology Equipment Enhancement (BEE): Enhanced Lab
Technology Program
Total: $122,200
Proposal: Pitt Community College
Project Title: PCC Biotechnology Laboratory Enhancement Project
Total: $73,894
Proposal: Sampson Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology Equipment Grant II
Total: $46,638
Proposal: Wayne Community College
Project Title: Equipping Wayne Community College Students for NC Biotechnology
Future
Total: $43,000
Total Equipment Awards: $1,048,682
Total Round Two Awards: $1,136,242
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