Biotechnology conference for educators to be held in July on Virginia Tech campus
Virginia Tech is hosting the 2015 Biotechnology Educators Conference July 29-31.
A joint effort between Virginia Bioinformatics Institute and Fralin Life Science Institute, this conference allows biotechnology educators – specifically high school and community college educators – to attend workshops on topics ranging from next-generation sequencing to running DNA-based classroom activities.
Scheduling and registration information are available at the Biotechnology Educators Conference website.
"We're very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to educators who may be seeking ways of incorporating biotechnology into their classrooms. This conference offers them a hands-on chance to do just that," said Kristy Collins, education manager at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute.
There will be a pre-conference Biotech Bootcamp on July 29 for educators who are new to teaching biotechnology. "The bootcamp is a great opportunity for teachers who are just entering this area to learn the basics of electrophoresis, pipetting, and more," said Kristi DeCourcy, bootcamp instructor and a senior research associate at Fralin Life Science Institute. "This will be an ideal lead-in to the many activities offered on the following two days of the conference."
A variety of workshops on topics including computational biology, next-generation sequencing, and protein visualization software, among others, will be available. Representatives from Illumina, Digital World Biology, LLC, Bio-Link, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Edvotek, Inc., and Fotodyne Inc. will also give talks and attend a vendor show. Virginia Tech scientists will also speak at the conference.
