The key has always been collaboration. In its earliest days 40 years ago, members of the University of Minnesota community launched the BioTechnology Institute (BTI) in an effort to expand the cross-disciplinary research efforts in biotechnology and manufacturing happening on campus. Now four decades later, that focus on collaboration and relationships remains a focal point as highlighted at the inaugural BioTech Day symposium last week. The event, hosted by BTI and the Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation Center (BBIC), offered a chance for faculty, researchers, and industry to dig into this expanding field of research in depth.
“My goal for the event was to showcase the tremendous depth and diversity of our research and innovation efforts in biotechnology at the University of Minnesota - and the important, long-standing role that BTI has played and continues to play in fostering an ecosystem of biotechnology collaboration and entrepreneurship at the University,” says Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, director of BTI and BBIC.
Throughout the day, attendees heard from panelists and presenters from both within academia as well as industry, took part in roundtable discussions on issues facing biotechnology research, heard about research endeavors during poster sessions with graduate students and postdocs, and had the chance to network throughout the day.
“Events like this lead to networking and idea generation between internal and external experts and can result in one-off projects or help inform larger initiatives,” says BBIC Chief Operations Officer Carmen Schicklberger. “For example, the roundtable discussion provided some great feedback that will be turned into a white paper and help guide the next phase of development for BBIC.”
While BBIC and BTI hoped to focus on that sense of collaboration and relationships going into BioTech Day, it’s also something that’s built into the nature of the field itself. Mervyn de Souza, senior director of global business development at Ginkgo Bioworks and a CBS and BTI alumnus, served as keynote speaker at the symposium. He focused part of his talk specifically on these issues. Reflecting back on his time as a student, he recollected being encouraged to foster collaborations with multiple labs, not just at the U of MN but also with other universities and institutions. In addition, de Souza worked under Dr. Larry Wacket who was transparent about funding mechanisms and had students present research to corporate sponsors.
“It’s through those multifaceted experiences that I learned the value of collaboration to get to win-win outcomes, while I was here and still use those insights in my day-to-day life to this day,” de Souza says. “It was great for me to reflect on those moments and come back and share a bit about them now. It’s a way to help students see the many options both on the technical and commercial side that a degree in biotechnology can lead to. This event also serves as a way to create bridges between foundational research and applications in real life, between academia and industry and showcases the depth and breadth of resources and expertise that we have in the state of Minnesota and at the U of M.”
While just in its first year, Schmidt-Dannert hopes this event will not only offer BTI and BBIC the chance to offer similar events in the future, but also kickstart new projects and research moving forward.
“I hope that participants were inspired, learned about innovations at the University, and started conversations around building new partnerships, including how to facilitate more effective industrial relationships that will eventually lead to products and/or start-ups,” she says. — Lance Janssen