As you read this page, groundbreaking gene therapies are actively restoring sight to children born with inherited blindness, offering hope where none existed before. Patients with immune disorders and cancers are experiencing unprecedented treatment success through reprogrammed T cells using CAR-T therapy, which has revolutionized therapies for certain leukemias and lymphomas. Meanwhile, researchers are also engineering crops to withstand increasingly severe climate conditions and improve nutritional profiles, addressing global food security challenges.

For over 300,000 years, we human, Homo sapiens, have been passive recipients of genetic inheritance, but today, thanks to advances in genome editing technologies, we can intentionally rewrite the genetic code that underpins life itself.

Throughout your studies in the General Biology Series BIO191, 192 and 193, you have built a strong foundation in fundamental scientific principles. Yet you may wonder: how do these core disciplines connect to the pressing challenges facing our world—such as challenges in agriculture, health care, disease treatment, and climate change?

The answer lies in biotechnology. Biotechnology serves as the essential bridge between pure science and applied innovation, transforming laboratory discoveries into solutions that directly impact human health, food security, environmental sustainability, and quality of life. Therefore, biotechnology is a rapidly advancing field that applies biological systems, living organisms, and molecular cellular processes to develop new technologies, products, and solutions that address human needs and global challenges.

I listed several Biotech companies in/near Chicago as below for your reference: