Biotech transforms

Bean Town into Gene Town

In a city that has quickly become known as the hub of biotechnology, the old nickname Bean Town is giving way to a new one: Gene Town. With more than 21,000 employees in the biotechnology field, Massachusetts not only houses the largest number of biotech companies in the country, but it also has the highest rate of venture-capital investment, according to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. Three of the largest pharmaceutical companies--Merck, Pfizer, and Novartis--have moved their research centers to Boston. The Milken Institute predicts the local biotech workforce will increase by 64 percent over the next decade (that's twice the national growth), solidifying Boston's hub status.

Increasingly, the biotechnology industry is expecting senior scientists to have both a strong science background and comprehensive business knowledge, and the Extension School's Master of Liberal Arts in Biotechnology is a response to this demand. In the program, students receive a graduate education in the sciences coupled with sound business training.

There has been strong interest among qualified candidates. April Blogett, of AstraZeneca, was the first student to apply to the new program. She has worked in drug discovery and vaccine development for more than 15 years, but the master's in biotechnology has a lot to offer her, including credibility. "I circulate among very smart women with advanced degrees," she says. "Having a master's gives me some credibility within those circles."

Mark Towes, a senior associate scientist at Dyax Corporation, has also worked in the industry for many years. "I have seen that a graduate degree shortens the time that it takes to get to where I'm going," he says, "and the Extension School allows me to get that degree while I'm building on the industrial experience that I'm going to need."

Even students with a PhD can benefit from the program. Richard Conroy has a doctorate in physics, but he says the ALM in Biotechnology degree will help him with his new job at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, DC.

-- Amanda Benson

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