{"479451":{"#nid":"479451","#data":{"type":"news","title":"There and Back Again","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EA group of graduate students from the Georgia Institute of Technology took a whirlwind trip to the cradle of the biotechnology industry last month to learn from the experts and make connections within the growing field of cell and tissue engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe 13 students, trainees from the Cell and Tissue Engineering Program (CTEng) supported by NIH\u2019s National Institute of General Medical Science and based in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, visited the South San Francisco headquarters of Genentech, the company often credited with launching the biotech industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThough the trip was a blur \u2013 Tuesday evening arrival, Wednesday tour of Genentech, Wednesday night flight back to Atlanta \u2013 it was a red-eye opening experience that left a deep impression on the students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cI didn\u2019t realize how much of an academic environment there was,\u201d says Alexandra Atalis, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. \u201cFor one thing, they have a postdoc program.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe Georgia Tech group, which featured seven bioengineering students and six biomedical engineering students, heard presentations about the company\u2019s research as well as its rich history. The company was founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert Swanson and biochemist Herbert Boyer after Swanson had learned about the recombinant DNA technology pioneered by Boyer and geneticist Stanley Cohen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe students also got a tour of the facility, \u201cand that was cool to see,\u201d says Erin Edwards, a bioengineering Ph.D. student. \u201cThey had a fully-automated testing system \u2013 robots transferring nanoscale samples through a variety of assays. But we also saw familiar things like microscopy facilities that are similar to what we\u2019re used to at Georgia Tech. It illustrated to me how far out on the cutting edge we are at Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ELike Atalis, Edwards was impressed with the academic-like atmosphere at Genentech, which is not typical in an industry setting, according to CTEng Director Andr\u00e9s\u0026nbsp;Garc\u00eda, professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and a Petit Institute faculty member.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThey\u2019re not just interested in developing a pipeline. There\u2019s a big focus on research and a push to publish in academic journals,\u201d Edwards says. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see that there\u2019s an opportunity to do basic research in an industry setting.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe Georgia Tech group began the day with a Genentech history lesson. In the early 1970s, biochemist Herbert Boyer and geneticist Stanley Cohen pioneered a new scientific field called recombinant DNA technology. After hearing about this development, Swanson called Boyer and what was supposed to be a 10-minute meeting turned into three hours. When they were finished, Genentech was born.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThen the students received \u201ca presentation geared toward research, something we\u2019re used to hearing,\u201d says Edwards, who works in the lab of Petit Institute researcher Susan Thomas. \u201cBut we also were exposed to things we don\u2019t see very often \u2013 robots that transfer small nanoscale samples through a variety of testing. That was a cool thing to see, a fully automated assembly line.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThere was a personal connection to Genentech for Atalis, who is interested in cancer immunotherapy and works in the lab of Petit Institute faculty member Krishnendu Roy, a Coulter Department professor whose focus is on immunoengineering. Much of Genentech\u2019s research is in immunology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cMonoclonal antibody therapy is one of their main areas of focus,\u201d says Atalis, referring to Avastin, a leading cancer drug made by Genentech. \u201cMy mother, who has been battling ovarian cancer for the past five years, recently used Avastin as part of her drug regimen. So, going behind the scenes at the company that makes this important drug had a deep personal meaning for me.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"CTEng Trainees Make Quick, Productive Trip to Genentech"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ECTEng Trainees Make Quick, Productive Trip to Genentech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"CTEng Trainees Make Quick, Productive Trip to Genentech"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2015-12-15 17:55:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:16","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-12-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-12-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"479431":{"id":"479431","type":"image","title":"CTEng group","body":null,"created":"1450285200","gmt_created":"2015-12-16 17:00:00","changed":"1475895232","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:52","alt":"CTEng group","file":{"fid":"204151","name":"dsc_0182.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0182_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0182_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1086294,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dsc_0182_0.jpg?itok=xURFgD-X"}},"479411":{"id":"479411","type":"image","title":"Antibodies","body":null,"created":"1450285200","gmt_created":"2015-12-16 17:00:00","changed":"1475895232","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:52","alt":"Antibodies","file":{"fid":"204150","name":"bigstock-plasma-cell-b-lymphocyte-produ-91024310_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-plasma-cell-b-lymphocyte-produ-91024310_2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-plasma-cell-b-lymphocyte-produ-91024310_2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":590739,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bigstock-plasma-cell-b-lymphocyte-produ-91024310_2.jpg?itok=oTquAKfY"}},"479741":{"id":"479741","type":"image","title":"Cell antibodies","body":null,"created":"1450371600","gmt_created":"2015-12-17 17:00:00","changed":"1475895232","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:52","alt":"Cell antibodies","file":{"fid":"204157","name":"bigstock-plasma-cell-b-lymphocyte-produ-91024310_2_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-plasma-cell-b-lymphocyte-produ-91024310_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-plasma-cell-b-lymphocyte-produ-91024310_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":590739,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bigstock-plasma-cell-b-lymphocyte-produ-91024310_2_0.jpg?itok=uMQrbPPe"}}},"media_ids":["479431","479411","479741"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"84901","name":"grad students"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}