The Biotechnology program at Central New Mexico Community College has been around for more than 20 years. It's a cohort-based three-semester program that begins in the fall and finishes at the end of the summer semester.
In this program, students gain many real-world lab skills that are necessary to work in any type of molecular biology lab, both in research and industry. Students prepare and run all of their own experiments, mastering many DNA, RNA, and protein manipulation techniques. Students also learn how to grow and maintain human cancer cells in a laboratory setting.
When students finish the program, they can easily move into any molecular biology lab setting and be ready to work. When students complete the biotechnology program, they can earn an Associate of Science in Biotechnology or a Biotechnology Certificate of Completion.
Typically, about half of them are primarily CNM students that will move on to UNM after they complete the program. The rest of the students are a mix of current UNM students and UNM graduates who are seeking to gain lab skills before they apply to graduate school or seek employment in industry.
For current UNM student Renee Pena, participating in the program made her courses easier and led to a summer internship at a UNM lab.
"The lab was so impressed with my work that they gave me a job offer, and I was more than happy to accept and because of my skills I learned from biotech I was able to jump right in seamlessly," Pena said.
Pena said she encountered graduate students who have told her they wished they had the opportunity to participate in the program to help ease the transition into a laboratory environment.
"The biotech program has been hands-down the best program I have been part of, and I highly recommend it to everyone I know that is interested. Biotech gave me hands-on training for material that we usually only hear in class, and it really helped me understand how everything works both hands on and conceptually."
The program is led by director Megan Hancock, who said they typically graduate 14-18 students per year. Students who complete the program are eligible for an associate of science in biotechnology, or a biotechnology certificate of completion.
Tanya Winters, another student who went through the program before transferring to UNM, highlighted the opportunities that were presented to her by the program that she wouldn't have had otherwise.
"If someone is interested in the program, I would say to take advantage of it," Winters said. "Lots of the experiments we perform can be costly and are not often available for students to do so I wouldn't take that for granted. It would benefit you a lot in gaining real world skills and make you a better candidate for lots of jobs that you now have all the skills for, and you get to do cool stuff."
