The Employ Florida Banner Center for Life Sciences at Palm Beach State College has entered into a year-long agreement to offer industry-driven workshops at Scripps Florida, a division of the nonprofit Scripps Research Institute. The workshops are being presented onsite in Jupiter for Scripps Florida staff, students and faculty.
The initial Banner Center workshops will focus on the business side of the life sciences industry, a topic of strong interest to many postdoctoral fellows and Ph.D.-seeking graduate students attending the Scripps Research Kellogg School of Science and Technology. The four-part workshop series “Business Basics for the Life Sciences Industry” explores the career pathways open to scientists, the fundamentals of starting a life sciences company, and good manufacturing practices in FDA-regulated industries — topics identified by the Banner Center’s Industry Advisory Council and statewide focus groups as knowledge gaps in the life sciences workforce.
Vanessa Saunders, Ph.D., a Scripps Florida postdoctoral research associate and workshop participant, is an active member of BioFlorida’s Industry Connections Network, a group that helped arrange the Banner Center training at Scripps Research. “Banner Center workshops will introduce individuals like myself to the business aspects of bringing science to the public,” Saunders said. “Personally, I am very interested in moving science, technology and ideas out of the lab. I want to know my research will lead to something tangible that will benefit the public.”
The workshops are examples of several education modules developed by the Banner Center for Life Sciences. The Banner Center, funded through Workforce Florida Inc., serves as a statewide resource for workforce education focused on the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, and its customizable programs are being deployed across the state in venues ranging from company offices to the classrooms and laboratories of Palm Beach State and the Banner Center’s academic partners.
Workshop presenters offer a unique combination of industry experience gained locally and nationally. Robert Nagro, a corporate executive, investment banker and business consultant, has played a leadership role in life sciences sector startups and has helped raise approximately $60 million in venture funding. Tod Fairbanks, Ph.D., a Palm Beach State College professor of biology and biotechnology, brings his prior senior executive experience at Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
“We are honored to work with Scripps Florida. Such an alliance reflects the mission of the Banner Center, which is to listen to industry members and provide training that fits their needs and goals,” Fairbanks said.
Workshop participants gave the first workshop on June 27 high ratings. “Workshops like this are very helpful for those of us who still have not decided our next step,” said Steven P. Bennett, Ph.D., a Scripps Research postdoctoral fellow specializing in cancer biology.
Designated in 2011 as an Employ Florida Banner Center by Workforce Florida Inc., the Employ Florida Banner Center for Life Sciences at Palm Beach State College is Florida’s industry-driven resource for life sciences workforce education and training. It is a consortium of industry, workforce and education partners providing training and career advancement solutions for Florida’s life sciences industry including medical devices, pharmaceutical and biotechnology.
For more information, visit www.lifesciencesbannercenter.com.
