We’re excited to welcome Angelita Howard, EdD., Founding Dean for Online Education and Extended Programs at Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Howard is a force for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in biotech. She helped found MSM’s # 1 ranked online Master of Science in Biotechnology degree program in 2019, and in 2020 created the Summer Bridges to Biotechnology and Bioentrepreneurship (B2BB) program: an innovative, online-only intensive 5-week pipeline program with hands-on training in biotechnology and bioentrepreneurship. This program has proven a major success in expanding biotech exposure and access to underrepresented minority communities. To quote one participant, B2BB has “opened minds to new life horizons.” Dr. Howard will discuss the creation of this program, the biotech DEI landscape in Atlanta, and strategies to enable broader access to biotech to enable the unique innovations that diverse perspectives can unlock.
Huge thanks to Georgia Research Alliance for funding this event!
5:30-6:00 Networking and hanging out
6:00-6:30 Dr. Howard’s presentation and Q/A
6:30-7:30 Pizza, networking and hanging out
University Bioconnect is founded on the observation that major biotech centers such as Kendall Square in Boston have community gatherings to share ideas and discuss the many themes that are collectively biotech. One can show up to these events and meet tons of people passionate about biotech’s potential to improve the world, people like researchers from top-tier institutions, clinicians, biotech startup founders, venture capital investors, and employees of massive biotech companies. Before you know it, three hours have passed, and connections have been made that sometimes lead to innovations that would have been impossible otherwise.
As we see it, Atlanta is past-due for developing a similar scene. The University Bioconnect Meetup is being launched by Ph.D. students from Georgia Tech, Emory, GSU, and Morehouse with assistance from VentureLab at Georgia Tech, to host monthly meetups with wide-ranging topics to foster the types of connections that make great biotech hubs thrive. With its leading position in research, clinical expertise, and recent and planned infrastructure, Atlanta is well-positioned to create the world’s next top high-growth biotech community; join us and help make that vision a reality!
