Career Links Vol 2 No 2 October 2002
Growing a New Career in Biotechnology:
An Interview with Dr. Luanne Wolfgram,
JCCC Assistant Professor of Life Science,
Biotechnology Program
Interview conducted by Kit Gorrell,
Employment Systems Technician
JCCC Career Services Center
Dr. Luanne Wolfgram is in her second year as a full-time assistant
professor of life science in the Biotechnology Program at JCCC. She came
to JCCC in 1998 as an adjunct science professor. Dr. Wolfgram has a
bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in microbiology from the
University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse. She holds a Ph.D. in immunology and
infectious diseases from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Dr.
Wolfgram has years of experience as a researcher and instructor of
microbiology and immunology labs for both medical students and students in
veterinary medicine as well as undergraduates.
For more information on the Biotechnology Program at JCCC, contact Dr.
Luanne Wolfgram at (913) 469-8500 Ext. 2365, or email at
lwolfgra@jccc.edu; or Dr. Joe Gadberry at (913) 469-8500 Ext. 3826 or
email at jgadber@jccc.edu.
Career Services Center: How did you decide to be a scientist?
Dr. Wolfgram: I don’t know that I ever decided…it’s what I liked
even in grade school. It was my favorite thing. Luckily even at a time
when girls
weren’t encouraged to go into science and math, I had a 5th grade science
teacher who saw my interest and pushed me. I grew up in Wisconsin, and
luckily we had a very strong K-12 [program] in my hometown—a lot of
science. Back when I was in school, I was one of the first I think that
took 1st year biology, chemistry, and physics, and then took the 2nd year
of everything. And had I been told I couldn’t [as a girl], it would have
only made me work harder. I originally went to college to be a nuclear
medicine technologist. However, because of a professor who didn’t support
my educational studies, I changed my major to microbiology. I had taken a
microbiology class and loved it. And the rest is history.
CSC: How did you get involved in the Biotechnology Program at
JCCC?
LW: Following graduate school, I spent 8-1/2 years at the
University of Wisconsin—4 years teaching microbiology and immunology labs
and 4-1/2 years at the medical school where I was part of the academic
staff and all I did was teach. I liked being with the students. I liked
teaching and taught students about infectious diseases. I also ran the
big important labs for veterinary and medical students. After leaving
Wisconsin, I taught for 3 years at my alma mater, UW-La Crosse. But I
married someone who worked for a company in Kansas City and his company
allowed him to telecommute, but that got old after two years. Then one
day I opened the Sunday Kansas City Star while we were down here and there
was an ad for an adjunct microbiology professor at JCCC.
CSC: Tell me about how JCCC developed a Biotechnology Program?
LW: It all began in late 2000 and early 2001. Dr. Gadberry,
assistant dean of Science Programs and Marilyn Shopper, professor of
Science, had been in contact with the Stowers Institute for Medical
Research about the difficulty they were experiencing in finding people to
work in their labs. Most [companies] are located on either the east or
west coast where there are a lot of universities with a longstanding
history of specialization in molecular biology and genetics. They also
have an ample supply of undergraduate students to work in their labs.
Locally and in the Midwest, however, this wasn’t the case. The idea to
create a Biotechnology Program at JCCC was suggested. At the time I was
still an adjunct instructor and was asked to research JCCC’s courses and
those at other community colleges across the country to see what kind of
programs they offered. I found that most community colleges, in
particular on the west coast, California and Washington especially, are
pretty rich in biotechnology programs because they have a lot of
biotechnology out there. They have programs just for biotechnology
majors. At JCCC, we realized we didn’t have the faculty with a breadth of
knowledge to start a whole program from scratch. It was decided that we had
a good basic science core, and by adding a total a five different courses,
we could augment the basic biology and chemistry courses to create our
program in biotechnology.
CSC: If an individual was interested in spending the least amount
of time in a degree program, what could he or she end up with?
LW: A student could get a certificate in a year. A certificate is
best for individuals who already have a degree and want to learn about
biotechnology to supplement their degree(s) and experiences. For a
student who is right out of high school, an Associate of Applied Science
degree, which is a 2-year degree in biotechnology, is the best option.
The Associate degree is designed for those students that wish to transfer
to another college or university to obtain a 4-year degree.
There are three options available at JCCC:
- the Biotechnology Certificate involves 2 semesters and 34 credits (or more if the internship option is selected),
- the Biotechnology Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degree requires 4 semesters and 64-66 credits, depending on which math classes are selected, and
- the Biotechnology Associate of Science (AS) Degree requires 4 semesters and a total of 78 credits, or 82 credits with an internship.
CSC: Is an internship encouraged with the different programs?
LW: Internships are required with the Applied Science Degree
option. With the certificate or the Associate of Science degree options,
internships are encouraged.
CSC: Does anyone else in the Kansas City metropolitan area or
region have a biotechnology program?
LW: Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) doesn’t have a
Biotechnology Program; however, they offer an online course called
“Bioinformatics”. It involves melding the information we get in the lab
with computers. KCKCC has talked about developing a program, but decided
it was a bit prohibitive—it’s an expensive program to run. Penn Valley
Community College was thinking of developing a program as well, but again
funding is a major problem.
The St. Louis area has gone crazy. St. Louis Community College at
Florissant Valley has developed an intense program and is fast becoming
one of the premier programs in the area.
CSC: Has there been a lot of interest here at JCCC?
LW: It’s building. Last year I taught all the classes for the
first time and I had 4 students. This year I have 8. Because it is a new
career for students to consider, high school teachers and counselors are
beginning to learn about it.
CSC: Luanne, according to a previous article about your program,
“biotechnology is the means of manipulating organisms to provide desirable
products for man’s use.”
LW: We think biotechnology is new, if you go by that definition.
From the time we started brewing beer and making bread, we were doing
biotechnology. It’s been around a long time, but now it just has a fancy,
4-syllable name. It even goes back to the Egyptians.
CSC: What tips do you have for individuals entering this field?
LW: You need to be very detail oriented, enjoy science and enjoy
thinking about science. If you are interested in going into the research
field, you have to understand that professional companies revolve around
this science. You have to be willing to become passionate about it as
well. It’s often not a 9-to-5 job, and you have to have a different
attitude about it. You’ve got to like being in the lab, often working by
yourself. That’s one of the hardest things for students at this level to
grasp—the work you do is on your own. You have to be a self-starter and
take directions well. You have to have a love and passion for science.
At JCCC, we give students the footstep into the lab, and hopefully they’ll
start out with an associate degree. We hope that we inspire them to go on,
which would be wonderful.
CSC: What area companies would possibly hire JCCC graduates?
LW: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, MRI (Midwest Research
Institute), University of Kansas (KU) Med Center and the University of
Kansas. It’s hard at KU because they have lots of their own students
that they hire. Bayer. Children’s Mercy Hospital has a lot of genetics
research going on within the hospital. Quintiles, and Xenotech.
CSC: Do students have to know a lot about medicine to work in a
medical lab?
LW: Not necessarily. They will pick some of it up along the way.
They must take microbiology, where they get a little of the infectious
disease process. With an Associate’s degree, some anatomy and physiology
coursework is required. Most labs are very focused on one problem, such
as cancer, or one small aspect of it. Labs don’t expect you to come with
this knowledge. They will teach you what you need to know. In designing
JCCC’s Biotechnology Program, professional companies and employers told us
to focus our teaching on the basics, because they teach the specific
knowledge and protocol of their lab. They just want them to have a strong
background.
CSC: What are typical job titles and responsibilities one can
expect?
LW: Research assistant, or a research lab assistant. Their
responsibilities range from helping a researcher run the lab, to the
day-to-day duties, to everything from ordering in the supplies, to running
some of the experiments, to keeping the instruments in the lab going. This
is part of the reason we added a physics course so they could understand
the equipment they’re going to be using.
CSC: Can you briefly explain the 3 areas of biotechnology:
medical, agricultural and industrial?
LW: The medical area is the main focus for most of the companies
in Kansas City—looking at cancer, how cells work and a variety of other
things. The agricultural area focuses on making better plants—making
plants that are more resistant to disease, which can withstand treatments
of herbicides, etc. The industrial area can be anything from the brewing
and baking industry to cleaning supplies. They have organisms now that
will digest oil, so when there are oil spills, they can just spray these
organisms and they’ll eat the oil up and get rid of it, so it doesn’t harm
the environment any further. JCCC’s Biotechnology Program targets the
medical area, but keeps the plant area in mind too. At JCCC, students
learn the basics that will allow them to basically go into any direction
they want to go in
CSC: What are the hottest issues in biotechnology today?
LW: I think the current issues in biotechnology include the human
genome project, stem cell research, and gene therapy for people with
genetic diseases, cancer research, etc. These are the ones that we hear
about the most and therefore are the ones people are most interested in,
or at least the media is most interested in. JCCC’s program is designed
to teach students techniques that will allow them to work in any research
arena.
CSC: It seems as though people always will have a job in this
field, since medical research will always be going on.
LW: Yes. If you’re good and you’re interested, basically the
sky’s the limit. You can start with an associate degree, and if you enjoy
it and you like it, you can go on and get your bachelor’s degree. I never
dreamed I’d be where I ended up when I started out in college. You never
can tell where it’s going to take you.
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