Survey of Biotechnology with Dr. Rick Hershberger
Survey of Biotechnology
Dr. Rick Hershberger
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Overview
Say farewell to the century of physics, in which we split atoms and turned silicon into data. Ring in the century of the gene. - Time Magazine, January 11, 1999
Welcome to Dr. Hershberger's web site in support of
his Survey of Biotechnology course. This course is designed to be a broad overview of the field of
biotechnology, including the scientific principles, research methods, commercial
applications, societal impacts, and business environment that impact and define
the operation of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Students will learn
how genes, proteins, and cells work, how biotechnologists study and manipulate
living organisms, and how those methods are used to solve problems and create
products in medicine, agriculture, industry, criminal justice, and the
environment. Students will examine ethical, social, and economic issues
affecting the use of biotechnologies, and the business and regulatory
environment in which biotechnology companies operate. The course gives a
detailed industry overview relevant to science, engineering, computer science,
information management, and business
majors considering technical or business careers in biotechnology and
pharmaceutical companies or any student interested in biotechnology's impact on
the human condition.
Course Themes
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The Science of Biotechnology: Cells, Tissues, Genes, Proteins, Metabolism, Heredity, Viruses, Antibodies and Immunity
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The Tools of Biotechnology: Recombinant DNA, Genetic Engineering, DNA Analysis, Protein Analysis, Bioinformatics
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The Applications of Biotechnology: Forensic Analysis, Genetic Testing, Recombinant Proteins, Infectious Disease, Immunologics, Plant Biotech, Animal Biotech, Medical Biotech, Tissue Engineering, Environmental Biotech, Bionanotechnology
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The Biotechnology Industry: The Regulatory Environment, Biotechnology Business, Ethical Issues
Key Online Course Resources
- Syllabus
- Course description, policies, overview of assignments and evaluations.
- Assignments Schedule
- Schedule of lectures, readings, assignments, deadlines, and exams. Hyperlinks to course notes, study guides, cases, assignments, and/or other handouts.
- Blackboard
- Students enrolled in this course will use the Blackboard course management system at California University of PA for online quizzes, tests, group discussions, and submission of assignments.
- Biotechnology Web Links
- A list of other web sites that can be used for reference.
The files on this site whose names end in ".pdf" contain lecture slides or handouts in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format. Download the free Acrobat reader plug-in to view these files.
Rationale for the Course
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has allocated over $160 million of tobacco settlement funds toward the growth of the life sciences industry cluster across the state, having identified the life sciences cluster as a key component in Pennsylvania's economic development strategy. The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse and the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative are regional economic development organizations seeking to expand the biomedical industry in southwestern Pennsylvania. The growth of the biotechnology industry, along with the closely related pharmaceutical, medical device, and health care industries, require not only a pool of technical talent skilled in laboratory bioscience but also a cadre of business people, information/computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians and statisticians who understand the science, methods, and commercial applications of biotechnology and the business environment in which bioscience companies operate. For this reason, this course is designed to provide a detailed overview of biotechnology - both as a science and as an industry - to any student anticipating a career in the life sciences field. Owing to its focus, scope, and availability in a distance learning format, this course is designed to serve the following Cal U and external constituencies:
- Cal U students within the B.S. in Biology program, as an elective. NOTE: Survey of Biotechnology can NOT be used to satisfy the department's curriculum requirement for an upper-level (300- or 400-level) elective course. It can be used by biology students to satisfy General Education requirements in Technological Literacy.
- Cal U students majoring in chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, computer science, or information science who are interested in how technical skills in these fields are used in the biotechnology industry and who wish to prepare themselves to gain employment in the biotechnology sector. These students can use this course to satisfy their General Education requirement in either Natural Sciences or Technological Literacy.
- Cal U students majoring in marketing, public relations, journalism, and business management who wish to gain a technical and business understanding of the life sciences industry and who wish to prepare for positions within biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and other life science firms as marketing communications specialists, salespersons, technical writers, and business managers. These students can use this course to satisfy their General Education requirement in either Natural Sciences or Technological Literacy.
The course is designed for online delivery in order to make it available to the broadest possible market of students and working professionals who are pursuing employment or have recently become employed in the biotechnology sector.
Instructor
Rick Hershberger, PhD, MBA
Associate Professor of Biology
Dr. Hershberger holds a BA in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University, a PhD in Molecular Biology from Case Western Reserve University, and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Hershberger has taught introductory and advanced undergraduate courses in Genetics, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology (biology majors), Contemporary Issues in Biology (non-majors), Biology and Chemistry (nursing majors), and Elementary Science Education (education majors). Prior to joining Cal U, Dr. Hershberger was Managing Director of the Biomedical Network at the Pittsburgh Technology Council, where he worked with the region's universities, life science business executives, and economic development agencies to promote the growth of the region's biomedical industry sector. Previously Dr. Hershberger was Associate Professor of Biology at Carlow University and Chair of its Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.