Page 5 - PDF

IMPACT 5
LEARNING FROM INDUSTRY

BIFP PARTNER PROFILE
At vTv Therapeutics, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company in High Point, Fellows
connect their day-to-day teaching with the complex processes and diverse disciplines that
are involved in discovering and developing commercial drug therapies for significant diseases
like Alzheimer’s and Type 2 Diabetes.

“Workforce and talent are vital to growing North Carolina’s $83 billion
life sciences industry. The BIFP program encourages important national
and international dialogue with education and workforce leaders.”
Nancy Johnston, Executive Director, Piedmont Triad Office,
North Carolina Biotechnology Center

Fellows visit NC Biotech Center in Research Triangle Park
F ew STEM instructors or teachers have private sector

biotech industry experience. As Fellows, they are allowed
access to labs, equipment and employees who demonstrate
the entire industry process - from R&D through manufacturing.
Fellows rank the opportunity to learn about the wide range of STEM
career opportunities in the biotechnology industry as one of their top
program takeaways. BIFP Industry Partners represent a broad range
of biotechnology sectors, from global pharmaceutical and medical
device giants to regional clinical research companies. Fellows learn
that within industry, interdisciplinary STEM skills are needed and
highly valued.

By developing new curriculum as part of the BIFP experience, Fellows
incorporate their first-hand exposure to new industry scale equipment
and processes into their teaching, as well as how work is done in an
industry setting. They leave inspired by a
better understanding of how bioscience
provides solutions for many of the
world’s most difficult problems.

Fellows spend a full week at
the BioNetwork Capstone
Center at NC State University
where they experience the
protein production process
from start to finish,
including gowning and
biomanufacturing safety
procedures.