Biotechnology

Become a Research Expert

The biotechnology major at Elms College is designed for students passionate about research. While you will cover core concepts of biology, chemistry, health sciences, and other scientific disciplines in your core classes, most of your academic experience will take place in research labs on campus.

Create Technologies That Benefit Society

Biotechnology majors at Elms study the practical applications of their research. This means that your work will often result in a new product or technology that others can use to improve human, animal, or environmental health.

Working closely with fellow students and faculty mentors, you’ll complete experiments that have an immediate impact on our world. Biotechnology faculty at Elms have expertise in neurodegenerative diseases, so you will have a chance to work on studies that answer important questions related to Alzheimer’s disease.

Biotechnology majors also develop competency in the following techniques:

• Cell/tissue culture
• Cell-based assays
• Flow cytometry
• Protein purification, quantification, analysis, assay, and handling
• DNA extraction, quantification, analysis, and handling
• PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction)
• Oral and written communication skills
• Data computation and analysis skills

Learn the Science-Writing Process

As a research scientist in the biotech field, you will be required to communicate with a number of different audiences. When it comes to publishing your breakthroughs, you will need to know how to write a cohesive article outlining your hypothesis, methods, and results. On the other hand, you will also need to share your ideas with entrepreneurs, investment firms, patent lawyers, and medical patients. At Elms, you’ll learn how to write for a range of audiences and occasions.

Your professors in the biotechnology program will guide you through the process of writing a research proposal, defining a topic, determining a methodology, and carrying out an experiment from start to finish. You’ll practice these skills in real-time by working on multiple ongoing experiments. This experience will serve as the basis of your professional development as a research scientist.

Beginning your first year on campus, you will also take a range of core classes in the liberal arts that expose you to interdisciplinary forms of communication and writing. The classes you take in English, history, religion, and other disciplines will help you put your research into context for general readers. The liberal arts will also help you develop your professional identity and portfolio for the job market, so that when it comes time to interview with employers, you’ll know how to speak about your work clearly and eloquently.