A 2006 report on biotechnology noted that, on the whole, Canadian entrepreneurs in the field are risk-adverse. Recent development projects such as the MaRS Discovery District research centre on College Street are attempting to break the ice, but more work remains to be done. A group of students at the University of Toronto took note of the report’s findings and developed what they thought would be an effective solution to the problem: get Canadian students involved in biotechnology while they are still young.
Undergraduate students at U of T often find themselves streamed into specific career paths, and rarely have an opportunity to interact with students outside of their area of interest. For life science students, career paths such as attending medical school or pharmacy studies are overemphasized and seen as the only choices available. A new student-based initiative known as the Delta Biotech Society is setting out to change these attitudes at the undergraduate level.
Justin Chakma, one of the group’s founders, explained: “We found that the majority of our colleagues desired to enter medical school. There was little passion for the subject material, or understanding of the broader purpose or point to it. Most students were completely unaware of this whole other realm of development in biotechnology. One-on-one patient care is enormously rewarding and important, but what if you could help a million patients in one go by joining a biomedical start-up?”
Chakma and his co-founders, Tim Zhao and Ray Guo, are trying to introduce students to the possibility of pursuing a career in biotechnology and give them an appreciation for entrepreneurship through three different activities: seminars, case studies, and a magazine published by the group.
The seminars allow students to get up close and personal with CEOs, venture capitalists and scientists, and learn from their experiences firsthand. In the case studies, students try their hand at running a theoretical biopharmaceutical company. They prepare by critically analyzing 20 to 30 page long scenarios that include drug descriptions, product development information, and financial statements.
The group’s new magazine, Bio- Synergy, features interviews from such names in biotechnology as Dr. Daniel Vasella, CEO of Novartis, and Stephen Scherer of the Hospital for Sick Children. Student-written articles covering issues from gene therapy to personalized medicine are also a part of each issue. The magazine was inspired by Chakma’s previous experience with the USbased Journal of Young Investigators, which had undergraduate students across 16 countries writing science articles.
Delta Biotech Society’s activities caught the eye of David Naylor, who asked them to follow up with a report on undergraduate biotechnology education describing initiatives at Stanford and other universities. This report started discussions among department chairs over how to revamp the current biotechnology-related course offerings at the University of Toronto—to the point where Terry Amburgey, a professor at the Rotman School of Management, is attempting to create a course that brings together undergraduate life sciences and commerce students in a class format similar to MBA programs.
“Biotechnology requires both scientists and businessmen,” said Amburgey. “You’ll often have the science students explaining to the businesstypes why this particular protein interacts with this receptor the way it does, and the implications for drug development. On the other hand, the business-types explain how cash-flow models work and why they’re relevant to biotechnology.”
Such efforts to move beyond a career- centric environment are also reflected in a new U of T curriculum report that urges a move away from the British-style career-focused system towards a more American liberal arts education. It may be the case that early interactions between students from various programs could help improve the often complicated relationships between doctors, scientists and investors.
Chakma is confident in the group’s initiatives.
“We believe our grassroots movement for entrepreneurship complements broader initiatives to bring together scientists, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. Undergraduate, graduate, engineering, commerce, medical—all kinds of students are coming together because they want to make a fundamental difference to humanity through biotechnology. Our dream is to catalyze the birth of the next generation of biotech pioneers. People say that entrepreneurs are born. We disagree. All it takes is a little bit of exposure.”
The Delta Biotech Society will be holding a general meeting on Thursday, September 27 at 5:30 p.m. in the MaRS building (101 College St). For members of the public interested in participating or learning more about the group’s activities, further information is available at deltabiotech.org.
