Biotechnology education: the role for biomedical engineering within a multidisciplinary field

Abstract

New tools and understanding in molecular and cellular biology are enabling the identification of novel products. The translation of new, associated technologies from the laboratory to the commercial scale plays an important role in the affordable delivery of biotechnology products to consumers. Expanding the scope of biotechnology education to include these technologies is an emerging priority for both Industry and academia. Traditional biotechnology education must be revised to include eukaryotic systems design which demands an understanding of cellular and molecular biology from an engineering perspective. Biomedical engineering curricula are typically well positioned for extension into this type of multidisciplinary and industrially relevant education. Other engineering disciplines generally lack the necessary biology prerequisites for effective instruction in eukaryotic biotechnology. Life science students in biophysics or cellular and molecular biology are unfamiliar with the necessary engineering fundamentals. A novel plan for modern biotechnology education will be described which leverages the diverse academic training of engineers and life scientists. The authors aim to produce students with training appropriate to enable the commercial realization of new biotechnology products now available only at the laboratory scale. This plan is a component of an NSF ERC application for bioengineering education proposed by an academic (Harvard University/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of Texas) and industrial consortium centered at Vanderbilt University.