As a public research university, UMBC is dedicated to breaking research barriers in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and STEM.
In today’s Industry News we take a look at the latest biotechnology news, and how UMBC is developing the workforce in the field. We also take a look at how scientists from around the world are tackling hard-to-answer questions like “how can we find cancerous cells?” and “how can we keep rhinos from going extinct?”
Industry News is brought to you by UMBC’s Division of Professional Studies, offering a broad array of professionally-focused master’s degrees and certificate programs that address industry needs while anticipating future opportunities.
UMBC continues to advance Maryland’s biotech workforce through $900K biomanufacturing grant
The biomanufacturing industry is ever changing and understaffed, especially in the climate of COVID-19. The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) granted UMBC $900,000 to train professionals to meet critical workforce needs within the industry. The program is expected to start in the summer or fall of 2023.
‘Biotech sisterhood’: 25 female CEOs find new ways to ‘sponsor’ the next generation at Arizona retreat
The amount of women in STEM have greatly increased in recent years due to the realization that without them, half of the population would not be represented in the workforce and the needs of society would not be properly represented. These female biotechnology CEO’s came together in Tucson, Arizona to create the first of many :”biotech sisterhood” retreats for women in the field to connect, bounce ideas off of eachother, and support other women in STEM.
One step closer to artificial rhino eggs
The northern white rhinoceros, a species natuve to East and Central Africa south of the Sahara, are on the brink of extinction. WIth just two of these rhinos left as of 2022, scientists are coming closer and closer to engineering an artificial egg from only stem cells. Scientists at Leiden University in The Netherlands lead the charge.
Ants can ‘sniff out’ cancer
Scientists at the French National Center for Scientific Research have found that ants can smell cancer cells. These scientists found that the different compounds emitted by various cells have different smells. As ants have highly trained senses of smell, they could differentiate between a healthy cell and a cancerous smell. More ants can be easily trained to sniff out cancer at a low cost, and it may be implemented after being assessed in the clinical trials.