Biotech Discovery Institute

Holy Family University’s Biotech Discovery Institute is open to rising high school juniors and seniors interested in biotechnology, biology, medicine, healthcare, engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, or other STEM fields.

Students must have completed at least one high school biology course, but no previous biotechnology or laboratory experience is required.

Whether you already know that biotechnology is in your future or you're simply trying to figure out where your interest in science might take you, the Biotech Discovery Institute provides an opportunity to experience the field.

At the Biotech Discovery Institute, you will:

Learn the science

You'll begin with the foundations of biotechnology and quickly move into the laboratory. You'll develop micropipetting skills, explore DNA and plasmids, isolate and analyze DNA, and learn how scientists use recombinant DNA technology to introduce new genetic information into bacterial cells—everything you need to know to design the experiment that will become your research project.

Topics for exploration include DNA, genes, plasmids, recombinant DNA, restriction enzymes, gel electrophoresis, bacterial transformation, and experimental design.

Conduct the research

You'll investigate how scientists use genetically modified cells to produce proteins. You'll conduct experiments, growing bacterial cultures, inducing recombinant protein expression, and recovering protein from your cells. You’ll evaluate your data and determine what your results actually mean. 
Just like a scientist working in a research laboratory, you'll use your data to draw conclusions and get ready to present your findings.

Topics for exploration include gene regulation, protein expression, cell culture, protein recovery, SDS-PAGE, fluorescence analysis, data interpretation, and scientific communication.

Connect with industry

You’ll discover biotechnology doesn't stop when an experiment ends. You'll explore how discoveries made in research laboratories become medicines, therapies, and commercial biotechnology products; learn about current and emerging biotechnology technologies; and meet professionals working in the biotechnology and life sciences industries. You’ll hear firsthand about the different careers available in the field.

Share your discovery

By the end of the program, you will have designed an experiment, worked with recombinant DNA, produced and analyzed a protein, and interpreted real experimental data. Finally, you and your research team will present your findings as scientists at the Biotechnology Innovation Summit.

Greater Philadelphia is home to a dynamic biotechnology and life sciences community. The scientists and professionals in the region are developing new medicines, advancing cell and gene therapies, manufacturing complex biological products, and transforming the future of healthcare. Holy Family University’s Biotech Discovery Institute will let you begin to explore that exciting world.

When you successfully complete the program, you’ll receive a certificate recognizing your biotechnology research experience.