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Biology & Biotechnology

Are you interested in understanding how life began and how living systems work? Do you get excited at the prospect of taking part in the search for a cure for cancer or the quest to clean up the environment? Do you think you might enjoy the challenge of harnessing genes to develop new medicines or new approaches to treating--or preventing--diseases?

If so, biology and biotechnology may be where your future lies, and WPI may be the right place to begin your journey. Biology is the study of life in all of its manifestations, and biologists today are deeply engaged in searching for answers to some of the most important and critical questions in the life sciences: How do proteins fold? How does the brain work? How do ecosystems evolve? Why do living things age?

Biotechnology is the use of organisms and their components to make useful products--from beer to powerful new medications. Scientists in this cutting-edge field make use of exciting new tools that enable them to sequence and manipulate genes, grow living cells in bioreactors, and extract and purify the products they make.

The active pursuit of new knowledge and new applications is the focus of WPI's Biology and Biotechnology Department, where all faculty members are engaged in research. As working scientists, they continually challenge their students to expand their thinking beyond what is already known and to become pioneers in the process of discovery. In addition, the university's proximity to New England's "biotechnology belt," with its many research facilities, laboratories, and medical and veterinary schools, lets students expand their education beyond the classroom and provides an ideal environment for exploring careers in a variety of settings.

The department offers a degree in biology and biotechnology with an additional option for students to choose a concentration area in cell and molecular biology and genetics, organismal biology, ecology and environmental biology, computational biology, or process biology. Students in biology and biotechnology can expect to go way beyond the frog dissections and microscope studies they did in high school biology classes.

Through courses, labs and projects, they'll have numerous opportunities to gain extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in fields like cell and molecular biology, recombinant DNA methods, microbiology, physiology, and environmental biology.

Program

The Biology and Biotechnology Department offers programs leading to the bachelor of science degree in biology and in biotechnology. The undergraduate program combines a broad base of fundamental knowledge and experience with in-depth laboratory studies. With their faculty advisor, students plan individual programs of study, including advanced course work and research. The goal is to develop a thorough understanding of biological inquiry through creative scholarship in a specialized area of basic or applied biological sciences.

Students learn by doing and by participating in research projects in faculty laboratories, or off campus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park, and other medical, biomedical and biotechnology institutions. This integration of classroom work with rigorous scientific projects prepares graduates for the complex and dynamic world of modern biology and biotechnology.

Students interested in careers in medicine may take advantage of WPI's pre-medical, pre-dental and pre-veterinary programs. Working with the pre-health professions advisor, they may plan a course of study in biology and biotechnology that will prepare them for medical, dental or veterinary school. They will also have the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities that will help them learn more about their future profession and gain some practical experience.

Projects

The Major Project in biology and biotechnology teams students with faculty members to work on solving problems in basic and applied science with real-life applications.

Some recent project topics

• Effects of electromagnetic fields on L6 cell growth
• PGA as a drug delivery system for insulin in cell culture
• Pet-assisted therapy for adolescent psychiatric patients
• Influence of the introduction of a neonate on behavior in a captive western lowland gorilla group
• Isolation and quantification of antigen specific T cells using magnetic-activated cell sorting
• Kin schooling tendencies in wood frog tadpoles
• Developing a research model for subsurface Mars
• Human T cell lymphocyte responses to hantaviruses
• Transcriptional regulation of the Alpha-2A adrenergic receptor in CATH.a cells

Facilities

The Biology and Biotechnology Department supports many facilities that are available for use by undergraduates. Here is a brief look at some of them:

Aquatic Ecology Laboratory

This lab features large aquaria used to study and model fish behavior under a variety of controlled environmental conditions. These studies enable researchers to construct computer and mathematical models of behavior and engage in chemical, physical and microbiological analyses of aquatic environments.

Bioprocess Technology Laboratory (Bioprocess Center)

This 2,000-square-foot facility includes a teaching laboratory and a restricted-access area used for contract research and development.

Cell Culture Room

This facility is equipped with gas and temperature-controlled incubators, laminar flow hoods and microscopes for culture of both plant and animal cells. It is used for both teaching and research.

Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory

This lab uses such methods as gel electrophoresis, electron microscopy and capillary ion analysis to probe the mysteries of the fungus Penicillium ochrochloron, a humble ascomycete with the potential for solving heavy metal contamination in soils, groundwater and wastewater.

Greenhouse

This oasis atop Salisbury Laboratories is home to a fern forest, a cactus collection, a hydrophyte garden with a cascading stream and pool, and a minibog. Two other rooms are used for experiental research and botany classes. Separate automated controls for ventilation and lighting keep the plants healthy and researchers and students comfortable.

Other biology and biotechnology laboratories are dedicated to the study of molecular genetics, bioremediation, neurobiology, genetics, plant biotechnology, fermentation, and other aspects of these disciplines.

Careers

WPI's experience-based approach to education equips biology and biotechnology students with an understanding of the fundamentals of modern biological sciences and a solid research background. This combination makes our biology and biotechnology majors uniquely qualified for careers in academic, industrial or governmental research laboratories. These young men and women go on to work for biotech firms and medical institutions or start challenging careers at such companies as Pfizer, Genzyme, and the Whitehead Institute. Many students go on to pursue master's or doctoral degrees at such prestigious research universities as Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Duke and Cornell, or enroll in some of the nation's best medical, dental and veterinary schools.

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Last modified: June 11, 2007 15:05:42