Master of Microbial Biotechnology Program

MB 585 - Industry Case Studies in Microbial Biotechnology

Project-based course directly working with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Students work in teams on a company-specific project. Projects range from developing business or marketing plans for new products; writing Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants or white papers; creating procedures, protocols, and/or process improvements for a company-specific process; and studying intellectual property issues. Written and oral communication skills as well as teamwork, flexibility, and ambiguity management are emphasized.

MB 714 - Microbial Metabolic Regulation

An integrative perspective on bacterial physiology and metabolism through analysis of metabolic regulatory functions.

BEC 575 - Global Regulatory Affairs for Medical Products

Introduction to the quality systems used to meet the regulatory requirements for developing, testing, manufacturing, and selling medical products in the global marketplace. This course provides a general background for those going into the medical products field, but is especially useful to students preparing for a career in the Regulatory Affairs or Quality Assurance Department within a pharmaceutical, biomanufacturing, or medical device company.

BIT 595 - Experimental Assay Design

Lecture and Laboratory based course on Experimental Assay Design (EAD), with an emphasis on Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs). Gain experience in scientific techniques such as experimental design, optimization, and data analysis while working in small teams to develop and optimize novel ELISAs. Develop oral and written communication skills through student-led discussions on data collected in the lab and experimental troubleshooting. 

BIT 582 - Virus Biotechnology

Lecture and Laboratory based course on concepts spanning principles in molecular virology through to engineering of viruses as molecular therapeutics. Gain experience in molecular virology techniques as viral plaque assays, qPCR,  and data analysis through the application of several fundamental virus assays.

BIT 501 - Ethical Issues in Biotechnology

Lecture based course that covers key aspects of moral and ethical theory, professional ethics, responsible conduct of research (RCR), intellectual property rights, finding reliable sources, and decision-making. Teamwork development through through project aiming to deeply research a biotechnology dilemma and presenting the science, dilemma, options, and invested groups’ views during a group led class seminar to develop a class consensus stance on the ethical dilemma.

ST 513 - Statistics for Management and Social Sciences I

Introduction to important ideas about collecting high quality data and summarizing that data appropriately both numerically and graphically. Exploration of the use of probability distributions to model data and find probabilities. Estimation of parameters and properties of estimators are discussed. Construction and interpretation of commonly used confidence intervals and hypothesis tests are investigated.  Understanding and practical use of Statistical Analysis Software (SAS).  

MB 589 - Master of Microbial Biotechnology Capstone

Integration of skills and knowledge acquired through previous graduate program industry practicum experiences to identify an unmet need and to evaluate the feasibility of a novel product or service generated through the ideation process. Development of a comprehensive, customer-validated business model and the creation of an investor pitch for both the solution and the company that will provide the solution.