dcbio.org

“Pharmacognosy” derives from two Greek words, “pharmakon”or drug, and “gnosis” or knowledge. Thus, Pharmacognosy (chemistry and biology of natural products) is the study of bioactive natural substances found in terrestrial and marine organisms (plants, animals, or microbes).

–From the University of Mississippi’s web site a.k.a. University of Ole Miss.

I visited their department for a few weeks, and I was knocked out by such a positive, upbeat, and energetic department.  They were excited about the ideas they were working on, and the out come seemed not so much to be a possibility but a fact.   Grad students were willing to work late into the night help others with projects as if it was their own.

How does this effect the world of DC area bio tech?  Beyond my career, it doesn’t.  Though today I was re-reading the data we produced there, and I was curious how many of you were aware of the roots of the word Pharmacognosy.

Evidently there are 1200 bio tech workers in Washingotn, DC as of the census of 2007.  I’m curious to see what the numbers are like for the next census.  Here’s a link to a very breif .pdf about bio tech workers on the bls.gov website.  Yes yes, DC’s dwarfed by Maryland’s 9,790 workers, which is cut down by California’s 23,240.  The cycle of bio tech life.

So I’d like to know where these 1200 DC bio tech workers are.  Many at Georgetown and George Washington Universities, many at hospitals.  Where else?

While we’re thinking about Labor Stats.  Check out the life of a Microbiologist here.  There’s also a nice blurb on Clinical Lab Techs…

No. no.  Not la vida loca, la vida bio tech..  Read this article below about living in the bio tech funding nightmare from the focus of a business owner:

The life of a biotech entrepreneur is always filled with uncertainty. But these days it is downright terrifying.
–voiceofsandiego.org

That statement reminds me of m experience in the biotech world, there’s great hope for the future full of amazing ideas, but often the money isn’t there or it disappears.  Even with a full story in mind, a great theory with supporting data doesn’t mean the money can be found to run the lab and pay our salaries.  That’s frightening.  On the other hand, with a RO1 in hand or other source of funding, there can be a great feeling of safety knowing that your job could last for 4 years, at least that was my thought the first time around an academic research project.  Now looking for my 4 position, I can really relate to the first quote, which I’m calling la vida bio tech!

Check out this blog run by The Biotechnolgy Industry Organization (BIO)
biotech-now.org they represent over 1,100 biotech companies and academic institutions, state centers, and more.  As a part of the mission of this site, we ran across their blog in a search on the web for more details about what’s happening in the DC area.

The section by their President and CEO is particularly interesting.  Check out Jim’s Corner here.  It’s great that they are making an effort to personalize their blog.

dcbio.org does exist in the DC area, so it’s great to see that there’s a section dedicated to policy here.  We’re in the home town of poilicy, which keeps us on the look out for biotech advocacy resources.

Yes,  your web admin is on the search for the next Job.  Our grant has ended, we managed to stretch out the funding for my position another year, T/A’ing a med school class, and now the grant is exhausted.   Luckily, I’ve had one interview, and I have another scheduled for Tuesday.

I have to tell you, I take it a little personally when I hear conservatives who are against the funding of bio-tech research with their concerns about the number of jobs it will create.

So why fund biotech research?

It is important to note that the medical technology industry is a critical component of the U.S. health sector and the economy overall. As reported in 2006, the medical technology industry employed over 300,000 workers with combined salaries of $21.5 billion and exported about $24 billion worth of products including a variety of medical devices.

–The examiner.

I’m quite excited about the possibilities.  This time around, the resume is much stronger, and there are several opportunities available, which puts me light years ahead of the last time a grant ended.  Let’s see how things go.  I know I’m now writing the optimism of someone that’s still employed.

I’m going to spend some serious time looking into these small businesses supported through economic recovery act if my academic leads don’t pull through.

Send your lab manager and research associate positions my way…

We started dcbio.org several years ago with the hopes of developing a community in the DC area between fellow Bio Tech researchers.  The project developed out of need we noticed after working in the field for over 9 years.  Marketing the idea has been an interesting experience.  We started with a forum community approach, and found limited interest, so we are now switching gears to a blog format.  We look forward to gaining more insight and understanding of the activity in the DC metro area biotech field.    With this in mind, we are search for a few more authors to add to our project here.  If you work in the Bio Tech field and would like to help create a voice for researchers in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia areas, please do leave a comment here, or contact us directly.  Cheers to a bright future and more funding!

http://biotech.indymedia.org/

This is an article with resources about avoiding lab conflict.
www.the-scientist.com/article/home/43677 .  They develop a mission statement and behavioral guidelines to create a feeling of common purpose.  Thanks to Alchemy from our previous version of this site for the link.

NIAID grant tutorials.
How not to kill a grant application
A winning proposal
Grant Writing Electronic Resources
Sciencecareers.org Funding

Spot some space dust  http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu
The ultimate Darwin Library  http://darwin-online.org.uk
Carnivore conservation  www.lcie.org
Physics Club www.ilovephysics.com
Bioinformatics for Dummies  www.ebi.ac.uk/2can/home.html
EcoScale www.ecoscale.org
Things up close  www.nikonsmallworld.com
Genes at Work www.genepaint.org

Thanks to Alchemy for the links..