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Career feature

The impact of a graduate training and career outlook program on diversity in the biotechnology sector

Nature Biotechnology volume 42, pages 148–155 (2024)Cite this article

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An intensive summer training program increased enrollment in a Master of Science in Biotechnology degree program, increasing awareness and opportunities among under-represented and underserved groups as a first step to transforming the biotech industry.

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Fig. 1: Enrollment in all cohorts of the MSBT and B2BB programs since their existence.
Fig. 2: Responses to survey questions about MSBT graduates’ perceptions of the program and their career prospects, given at the end of the degree program.
Fig. 3: Highlights from the B2BB post-program survey.
Fig. 4

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Acknowledgements

Funding for Bridges to Biotechnology & Bioentrepreneurship and for this research was provided by Baxter International, the Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative and the United Negro College Fund. The authors thank N. Kennedy and L. Howze for their assistance with data collection and M. Lui, S. Fisk and C. Simmonds for helpful discussions.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Joan Adebowale, Keisha Bentley

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Education, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Angelita P. Howard & Rebecca McPherson

  2. Clear Water Science Consulting Limited, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Liane S. Slaughter

  3. Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry & Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Joan Adebowale & Keisha Bentley

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  1. Angelita P. Howard
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  2. Liane S. Slaughter
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  3. Joan Adebowale
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  4. Keisha Bentley
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  5. Rebecca McPherson
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Contributions

A.P.H. conceptualized the project, designed surveys, acquired data, analyzed and interpreted data, and supervised preparation of the manuscript. L.S.S. supervised and prepared the manuscript. J.A. and K.B. analyzed data, wrote code, prepared visuals, interpreted results and wrote significant portions of the manuscript. R.M. analyzed data, wrote code and interpreted results. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Angelita P. Howard.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Howard, A.P., Slaughter, L.S., Adebowale, J. et al. The impact of a graduate training and career outlook program on diversity in the biotechnology sector. Nat Biotechnol 42, 148–155 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-02084-0

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