Tri-State Expansion, Curriculum Evolution, and Equity during BioTechnician Training (Tri ExCEEd BTT)

在大费城地区，细胞和基因治疗（CGT）推动了生命科学产业的发展，导致了对学术和工业实验室技术人员的高需求。临床试验的增加和批准的CGT产品将增加对生物加工实验室技术人员职位的需求，增加了学士学位以下个人的机会。Wistar研究所开发了生物医学技术人员培训（BTT）计划，为费城社区学院（CCP）的学生准备生物实验室技术人员和研究助理的职位。BTT项目为社区大学生提供了研究经验和劳动力发展，并于2019年注册为学徒前项目。该项目将与新的社区大学合作伙伴一起确定适当的先决条件课程，并允许学生在BTT预学徒计划中获得学分，该计划包括实验室指导和两个实验室体验，一个在学术研究实验室，另一个在工业实验室或核心设施。该项目将把雇主合作伙伴的数量和地理位置扩大到新泽西州和特拉华州。该项目将扩大在大费城地区的招聘工作，并通过增加3个社区学院合作伙伴来增加申请人数量，使覆盖3个州至少10个县的8所社区学院参与BTT学徒前计划。该项目将提供一个蓝图，将生物技术人员学徒前课程纳入社区大学的各种生物技术和科学课程，并作为区域方案扩展的典范。将在邻近的两个州招募新的雇主合作伙伴，允许学徒制在全国范围内使用。将开发以项目为基础的实验课程，并将其映射到CGT新制定的标准中。通过使用Wistar专门选择的研究来吸引服务不足的学生和付费参与者，我们将调查该计划是否提供了缩小完成差距所需的公平。将确定每个新的社区学院合作伙伴的教员联络员，他们将接触到当前的研究和CGT。这些经验将使他们能够与彼此、行业合作伙伴和ATE社区建立联系。增加雇主合作伙伴来提供实验室体验，预计会导致更多拥有副学士学位的员工被雇佣。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The growth of the life science industry, fueled by cell and gene therapy (CGT) in the Greater Philadelphia region, has led to a high demand for laboratory technicians in both academic and industry labs. Both an increase in clinical trials and approved CGT products will bring increased demands for laboratory technician positions in bioprocessing, increasing opportunities for individuals with less than a bachelor’s degree. The Wistar Institute, developed the Biomedical Technician Training (BTT) Program to prepare students from the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) for positions as biological laboratory technicians and research assistants. The BTT Program has served as both research experience and workforce development for community college students, and the BTT Program was registered as a pre-apprenticeship program in 2019. This project will work with new community college partners to identify appropriate pre-requisite courses and allow students to earn credits for their experience in the BTT Pre-apprenticeship Program that includes a Laboratory Orientation and two Lab Experiences, one in an academic research lab and the other in an industry lab or core facility. The project will expand the number and geographical location of employer partners to New Jersey and Delaware.The project will expand recruitment efforts in the Greater Philadelphia region and increase numbers of applicants by including 3 additional community college partners, bringing a total of 8 community colleges covering at least 10 counties in 3 states involved in the BTT pre-apprenticeship program. The project will provide a blueprint for incorporation of a biotechnician pre-apprenticeship program into various biotechnology and science curricula at community colleges and serve as a model for regional program expansion. New employer partners in 2 neighboring states will be recruited, allowing the registration of the apprenticeship for use nationally. Project-based laboratory curriculum will be developed and mapped to newly developed standards in CGT. By using research from Wistar specifically chosen to engage underserved students and paying participants during the program, we will investigate whether this program provides the equity needed to close completion gaps. Faculty liaisons at each new community college partner will be identified and they will be exposed to current research and CGT. These experiences will allow them to make connections to one another, industry partners, and the ATE community. Adding employer partners to offer lab experiences is expected to result in more hiring of employees with an associate degree. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the Nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.