Education & Engagement
EBRC is committed to the education, training, and professional development of the next generation of engineering biology practitioners. By promoting awareness and increasing participation in research and the bioeconomy, EBRC’s Education and Engagement Focus Area is dedicated to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility of engineering biology and mobilizing talent. Through the efforts and leadership of the Education and Engagement Working Group, EBRC facilitates programs and hosts resources and materials for inspired teaching and learning at all levels. The Education and Engagement Focus Area is also home to EBRC’s Student & Postdoc Association (SPA), which fosters a community for trainees from around the world and offers a forum for interaction and collaboration with peers and professionals throughout engineering biology.
Check out the newest Education Module: Introduction to Engineering Biology!
Focused around concepts in the 2019 EBRC roadmap, Engineering Biology, this module consists of presentation slides that can be used (in sequence, or mixed-and-matched) to give students a basic understanding of the tools, technologies, and opportunities in engineering/synthetic biology.
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Programs & Activities
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EBRsee
EBRsee is an initiative to curate and produce podcasts, videos, and other content on concepts in engineering biology to increase public awareness and engagement.
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Curriculum Modules
This initiative aims to build on existing resources to produce valuable teaching materials for course instructors and assistants. We are building up-to-date, agile and adaptable curriculum modules for teaching synthetic biology – including dynamic classwork, lab protocols, data analysis and homework, reading and recitation, and quiz and exam materials.
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Education & Outreach Activities
Workshops, short-courses, classroom activities and hands-on training opportunities to share education and training tools in engineering biology.
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Mentorship
The EBRC Student and Postdoc Association established this program to link students and postdocs with EBRC industry and government partners in an effort to provide a fertile research network and promote best practices for responsible innovation. Through this program, graduate students and postdocs are provided with valuable career support and professional guidance, especially those interested in careers outside of academia.
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Activities in Development
EBRC has a number of education-related activities in development by the Education Working Group. These activities and programs are currently in the information-gathering and organizational stages and we expect to roll them out soon. If you would like more information about these activities, or would like to contribute, please get in touch.
More cool stuff coming soon!
Working Group
The Education Working Group is responsible for coordinating educational resources, information, and activities among educators and practitioners in engineering biology-related fields. This group develops programs that support education at all levels and works with industry partners to understand workforce needs.
Chair: Mark Styczynski
Staff Director: Emily Aurand
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Theodore Anton
DePaul University
Professor, English
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Emily Aurand
EBRC
Director of Roadmapping and Education
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Kaitlin Dailey
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Research Instructor
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Erin Garza
J. Craig Venter Institute
Staff Scientist
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Channabasavaiah Gurumurthy
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Professor
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Terry Johnson
University of Chicago
Associate Teaching Professor
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Cameron Kim
Duke University
Assistant Professor of the Practice
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Council Member
Natalie Kuldell
BioBuilder Educational Foundation
Executive Director
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Council Member
Aditya Kunjapur
University of Delaware
Assistant Professor
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Council Member
Joshua Leonard
Northwestern University
Associate Professor
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Theresa Loveless
Rice University
Assistant Professor
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Julius Lucks
Northwestern University
Associate Professor
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Megan McSweeney
Georgia Institute of Technology
Graduate Student
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Council Member
Vincent Noireaux
University of Minnesota
Professor
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Alexandra “Lex” Patterson
Georgia Institute of Technology
Graduate Student
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Marilene Pavan
LanzaTech
Scientist
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Janet Standeven
Georgia Institute of Technology
Program Director
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Council Member
Mark Styczynski
Georgia Institute of Technology
Associate Professor
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Danielle Tullman-Ercek
Northwestern University
Associate Professor
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Council Member
Cătălin Voiniciuc
University of Florida
Associate Professor of Plant Synthetic Biology
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R. Clay Wright
Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor
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Eric Young
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Associate Professor
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Education News
- October 19, 2022
Check out “Life Lab”, a podcast featuring EBRC members!
“Life Lab” is a podcast series aimed at kids ages 9-12 and their families. Created in collaboration with Tumble Science Podcast for Kids, “Life Lab” is five episodes about engineering biology to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, featuring EBRC members and leaders in the engineering biology community. Listen here!
- July 8, 2022
Education Module: Synthetic Biology and Machine Learning
A collection of six discussions with researchers who work at the interface of synthetic biology and machine learning.
- September 28, 2020
Read EBRC’s response to the National Defense Education Program’s RFI
Read EBRC’s response to the DoD’s Request for Information (RFI) on Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development. (August 2020)
- August 19, 2020
The Genetic Code Kit: An Open-Source Cell-Free Platform for Biochemical and Biotechnology Education
Layne C. Williams, Nicole E. Gregorio, Byungcheol So, Wesley Y. Kao, Alan L. Kiste, Pratish A. Patel, Katharine R. Watts and Javin P. Oza. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.
- June 16, 2020
YouTube resources for synthetic biology education
Publication Date: September 2019 | Originally published in Synthetic Biology.
EBRC aims to serve as a resource for disseminating educational content and resources for engineering/synthetic biology. This article shares information about the compilation of publicly produced and accessible videos on YouTube for audiences interested in learning more about the field. Six playlists are described in the publication: Synthetic biology overview, Synthetic biology concepts, Synthetic biology teaching or public lectures, Synthetic biology research lectures, Synthetic biology in the lab, and iGEM. These playlists and the resulting publication were created by Aaron Dy, a former EBRC Student and Postdoc Association member, to share with the EBRC and wider community.
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