Biotechnology,  Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Military Veterans

Biotechnology, DEI and Military Veterans  

As someone who has been directly involved equally in biotechnology and academia now for four decades, I place an emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in both the academia sector and the biopharma/biotechnology industries. For instance,  I submitted a special DEI NIH grant that was subsequently funded under a grant awarded to our biotechnology company that provided funds to support one of our female  PhD research scientists so that she could better learn how to write NIH grants, administer them and oversee an NIH funded project (3R44HL130805-03S1; NIH/NHLBI; Administrative Supplement to Promote Diversity in Research and Development Small Businesses-SBIR/STTR. ) My focus on DEI also extends to my cell and molecular biology course where I emphasize the accomplishments of, and unique challenges to, women scientists who include Rita Levi Montalcini  (NGF/Nobel Prize - 1986) and Katalin Kariko (mRNA vaccines/BioNTech/COVID vaccines) who persevere and overcome their respective professional hurdles. More recently I have now included Military Veterans in my biotechnology diversity interests portfolio, in part, because I am a Military Veteran from the Vietnam War era and have identified a real need in the biotechnology field for a more diversified applicant pool in this industry that also should include Veterans. The need for well trained scientists of all diverse educational backgrounds, ethnicities and genders as well as Military Veterans in the biotechnology industry is outlined below.

Genetic Engineering News (GEN) reported in April, 2023 (Top 10 Life Sciences Jobs over the Next Decade, 4/14/2023) that a recent 2023 report on the U.S. Life Sciences sector employment in biotechnology reached a record of 2.1 million jobs at the start of 2023. While there has been a slowdown in hiring coinciding with the downturn in the stock market, previous cycles of a similar nature predict that the slowdown in biotechnology won't be as severe as that of the broader economy. Furthermore, a report by the Global Commercial Real Estate Services (CBRE) released at the 2023 BIO International Convention held in Boston by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization states that unlike the broader tech sector that has been shrinking significantly in the last few years, the biotech arena has outgrown the overall U.S. economy in 2022 which it has done for the past 20 years assuring a bright future for those who enter the biotechnology field.  An analysis by GEN has identified that of the top 10 Life Sciences jobs in the next few years those in the biotechnology industry will be in the highest demand with the top four listed below at the end of this narrative. CBRE lists biotech clusters that are rank ordered and include Boston/Cambridge (1st), San Francisco (2nd), Washington/Baltimore (3rd), NewYork/New Jersey (10th) and Miami/Fort Lauderdale (20th) as examples. Importantly, however, some of the fastest growing regions include Denver/Boulder and Phoenix all of which speak to the promise of future high paying positions in biotechnology across the United States. But how will we fuel this burgeoning biotech sector with future  entry level/non-PhD/Masters employees of all diverse backgrounds that include Military Veterans?

There is a well known lack of well trained entry biotechnology research scientists in some of these clusters such as the fast growing Boston/Cambridge region whose jobs in the biopharmaceutical and medical lab sector increased by 22% between 2019 and 2022. There is also concern about the lack of diversity in the current employee pool as well.  In May, 2023, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council announced plans to create a nonprofit entity to link under represented populations and individuals to the biotechnology sector through the launch of "Bioversity" which will operate a 4,000 square-foot workforce training center in Dorchester, MA. This step is monumental because it represents one of the first steps to address DEI in the biotechnology employment arena. Several other programs and initiatives have also been launched by the Gloucester (MA) Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI), BioConnects New England,  Mass Bio, and LabCentral  that are all dedicated to educating and training young people of all diverse backgrounds who will address the current and  future workforce gap in the biotechnology sciences.

Yet one overlooked group of promising future biotechnology research scientists that needs to be included in these diversity and training efforts are Military Veterans who have skill sets developed as a consequence of their military careers that can be translated to working in the biopharma and biotechnology industries. For instance, veterans are trained to work as a team to ensure the success of the mission - an attribute that is critical for successful biotech product development and launch. They are skilled in high level technology which is required by biotech personnel.  And they have to constantly adapt to new situations and roadblocks that require altering the mission strategy to achieve success. All of these skills are critical to the biopharma/biotechnology sectors as well. Indeed, Corning Corporation  details why this company prioritizes hiring  Military Veterans by stating the following on its website , "At Corning, we recognize the best business leaders don’t always start their careers in business. We recognize that the US military is one of the greatest institutions in the nation for instilling values like leadership, teamwork, and integrity. The veterans we hire have an intense work ethic and proven expertise in a variety of disciplines, and we recognize that the military is a valuable source of highly-qualified candidates."

 Yet few Military Veterans are familiar with the biopharma and biotechnology fields and professional opportunities given that many feel erroneously that these areas are simply too high tech and/or demand a PhD or Masters degree which they perceive as roadblocks to following this professional path. It is my intent to develop an NIH/DoD/Veterans Administration/State-funded program that will offer opportunities to Military Veterans, similar to what is offered to newly minted high school graduates by GMGI, so that they can find high paying and rewarding positions in the biotechnology industry that have the promise of upward mobility.  Given the programs now being developed referenced above, there are a number of successful models that can be leveraged to develop a one or two year program for Military Veterans preparing them for a future in the biotechnology field that simply isn't available to them through any other avenue. Such a program will further diversify the pool of biotechnology employees as well as offer Military Veterans professional opportunities that otherwise would not be easily attainable by them through alternative traditional education programs.

Position: Projected Total Number of Jobs in 10 yrs