Biotech prospects draw a crowd

Monday, October 22, 2007

By BRIAN LAWSON

Times Business Writer brian.lawson@htimes.com

Partnership event has many buzzing about opportunity

The party drew CEOs and lab technicians, world-class researchers and moms embarking on a second career.

That's exactly what the Partnership for Biotechnology Research envisioned when it started here five years ago.

The group's retreat at Huntsville Botanical Garden on Thursday and Friday included biotech companies and vendors, the work of student scientists from area colleges and talk of a future brimming with opportunity.

"Things are vastly different today than when I came here nine years ago," said Dr. Joseph Ng, a biology professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and coordinator of its structural biology lab. "I think the first PBR event we did had 65 people, mostly academics."

Thursday night the partnership, which includes industry members, academics and scientists, had some 320 people signed up for dinner. The crowd was buzzing about the expected impact of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, which opens in Cummings Research Park next month.

The 260,000-square-foot institute will house some 12 local biotech companies and a nonprofit institute to be led by Dr. Rick Myers, now head of Stanford University's genetics program. The institute - the brainchild of local biotech pioneer Jim Hudson - expects to employ some 900 people in the next several years and attract new companies looking to collaborate.

"Five years ago, Invitrogen had just closed Research Genetics here, Shearwater Polymer had been sold to Nektar - things looked pretty bad," said Dr. Gopi Podila, chair of UAH's Department of Biological and Social Sciences. "But in the last five years, we've seen 15 or 16 start-up and growth biotechnology companies come here.

"Right now we probably have more people (looking for biotech jobs) than jobs, but once the institute reaches full steam, that will reverse pretty quickly."

The prospect of working in a "cutting-edge" field drew Madison residents and friends Michele Morris, 41, and Sue Whitehead, 43, to enter the new biotech program at Calhoun Community College.

Morris has a journalism degree and Whitehead has a computer science degree. They've spent the last few years concentrating on being moms, but when they read about the fledgling program and HudsonAlpha, they decided to go back to school.

"I was telling my two sons that biotechnology was such a new and exciting field and they should consider it, then I thought, 'I could do that,' " Morris said. "Liberal arts study is very predictable. There's nothing predictable about this."

Whitehead said the excitement of being involved in something with so many possibilities for mankind makes all the studying fun.

The women said the majority of the 37 students in Calhoun's program are over 35 years old and looking for a new career.

Oakwood College biology major Samuel Nwosu, 21, was part of the partnership's poster and oral presentation contest Friday, in which undergraduate and grad students display and discuss research projects.

The program featured more than 35 presentations, including topics such as "Differential Sensitivity of Oligodendrocytes and Motor Neurons" and "Surface Modification of Polyethyleneterephthalate by Excimer Radiation."

Nwosu interned at Loma Linda Hospital in California over the summer, studying the effects of a cancer drug treatment on mice. Nwosu is still trying to decide between a career as a medical doctor or biology researcher, or he may pursue both.

"You have to be motivated for research, and I'm interested in treating cancer, looking for ways to correlate treatment from the cellular level," he said.

Hudson happily soaked in the energy Thursday night. He estimated that Huntsville's biotech community today numbers about 400, and he wants that figure to increase.

"We want to build a biotechnology success story in Huntsville, not have these students need to leave to work someplace else," he said. "We want Huntsville to be the nucleus."



Biotech prospects draw a crowd Monday, October 22, 2007 By BRIAN LAWSON Times Business Writer brian.lawson@htimes.com Partnership event has many buzzing about opportunity The party drew CEOs and lab technicians, world-class researchers and moms embarking on a second career. That's exactly what the Partnership for Biotechnology Research envisioned when it started here five years ago. The group's retreat at Huntsville Botanical Garden on Thursday and Friday included biotech companies and vendors, the work of student scientists from area colleges and talk of a future brimming with opportunity. "Things are vastly different today than when I came here nine years ago," said Dr. Joseph Ng, a biology professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and coordinator of its structural biology lab. "I think the first PBR event we did had 65 people, mostly academics." Thursday night the partnership, which includes industry members, academics and scientists, had some 320 people signed up for dinner. The crowd was buzzing about the expected impact of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, which opens in Cummings Research Park next month. The 260,000-square-foot institute will house some 12 local biotech companies and a nonprofit institute to be led by Dr. Rick Myers, now head of Stanford University's genetics program. The institute - the brainchild of local biotech pioneer Jim Hudson - expects to employ some 900 people in the next several years and attract new companies looking to collaborate. "Five years ago, Invitrogen had just closed Research Genetics here, Shearwater Polymer had been sold to Nektar - things looked pretty bad," said Dr. Gopi Podila, chair of UAH's Department of Biological and Social Sciences. "But in the last five years, we've seen 15 or 16 start-up and growth biotechnology companies come here. "Right now we probably have more people (looking for biotech jobs) than jobs, but once the institute reaches full steam, that will reverse pretty quickly." The prospect of working in a "cutting-edge" field drew Madison residents and friends Michele Morris, 41, and Sue Whitehead, 43, to enter the new biotech program at Calhoun Community College. Morris has a journalism degree and Whitehead has a computer science degree. They've spent the last few years concentrating on being moms, but when they read about the fledgling program and HudsonAlpha, they decided to go back to school. "I was telling my two sons that biotechnology was such a new and exciting field and they should consider it, then I thought, 'I could do that,' " Morris said. "Liberal arts study is very predictable. There's nothing predictable about this." Whitehead said the excitement of being involved in something with so many possibilities for mankind makes all the studying fun. The women said the majority of the 37 students in Calhoun's program are over 35 years old and looking for a new career. Oakwood College biology major Samuel Nwosu, 21, was part of the partnership's poster and oral presentation contest Friday, in which undergraduate and grad students display and discuss research projects. The program featured more than 35 presentations, including topics such as "Differential Sensitivity of Oligodendrocytes and Motor Neurons" and "Surface Modification of Polyethyleneterephthalate by Excimer Radiation." Nwosu interned at Loma Linda Hospital in California over the summer, studying the effects of a cancer drug treatment on mice. Nwosu is still trying to decide between a career as a medical doctor or biology researcher, or he may pursue both. "You have to be motivated for research, and I'm interested in treating cancer, looking for ways to correlate treatment from the cellular level," he said. Hudson happily soaked in the energy Thursday night. He estimated that Huntsville's biotech community today numbers about 400, and he wants that figure to increase. "We want to build a biotechnology success story in Huntsville, not have these students need to leave to work someplace else," he said. "We want Huntsville to be the nucleus." © 2007 The Huntsville Times © 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved.