It isn’t every day that a bipartisan federal commission visits your college campus. But that’s just what happened at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) on Wednesday, August 27!
ETSU hosted a special meeting of National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB). The Commissioners wanted to learn more about East Tennessee’s biotechnology hub and how regional stakeholders are supporting its continued growth, including workforce education.
NSCEB’s Charge
The NSCEB was created by Congress in 2022. Its charge was to conduct a thorough review of how advancements in emerging biotechnology and related technologies will shape current and future national defense activities. In April 2025, after several years of information gathering and analysis, the Commission the report, “Charting the Future of Biotechnology: An action plan for American Security and Prosperity.” The report contains specific recommendations to accelerate U.S. biotechnology leadership, focusing on innovation, security, and workforce development.
In workforce development (Chapter 5), their call to action is clear: to maintain an edge in this rapidly evolving arena, the nation must dramatically expand its talent pipeline and infuse “bioliteracy” into education at all levels. The report calls for investments in microcredentialing, teacher training, and robust partnerships between academia, industry, and government to prepare students for a range of jobs and to inspire them as future biotech innovators.
Having issued their report, the Commission is now engaged in a “roadshow”, which they describe as, “Hitting the road to highlight biotechnology across America, including the companies, academic institutions, industry alliances, workforce development programs, and policy initiatives that are driving the future for this rapidly growing industry. Commissioners intend to continue learning about the work being done across this vibrant ecosystem while engaging on the key findings and recommendations from the Commission’s recent report to Congress.”
East Tennessee was one of eight regions selected by the NSCEB for a special meeting.
Meeting Highlights
The meeting included four sessions with numerous stakeholders from the East Tennessee biotech hub.
Session 1: The day began with a regional overview that traced the history of innovation and “get it done” attitude that has defined the Appalachian Highlands. The speakers highlighted the region’s significant “come together” efforts throughout its history, from the Over Mountain Men in the Revolutionary War who fought when the King ordered General Ferguson to burn their farms, to the preservation of fermentation skills throughout the era of prohibition, to the building of the Oak Ridge National Lab during the Manhattan project. Building on the “DNA” of local people who work to solve a big problems, the panel was moderated by David Golden, CEO of the ETSU Research Corporation, the speakers were
- Dr. Brian Noland, President at ETSU
- Dr. Linda , immediate past Chair, ETSU Board of Trustees)
- Scott Niswonger CEO Niswonger Foundation and Philanthropist
- Alan Levine, Chair and CEO Ballad Health, Vice-Chair Florida Board of Governors
- Scott Andrew, CEO Tennessee Hills
Session 2: The next session was moderated by BioBuilder’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Natalie Kuldell. Entitled “The Longest and Most Critical Supply Chain—Cracking the Code and Growing the Future Bio-Tech Workforce Now,” the session emphasized the region’s built-for-purpose pipeline of biotech talent. Reflecting on the fact U.S. high school students graduate with ~15,000 hours of school time, the time can result in more than “awareness and exploration” of science careers for students. And in East TN they are! The programs, partners, and pathways that have resulted were presented by
- Dr. Vicki Kirk, STEM.LD Program Coordinator, Niswonger Foundation
- Dr. Kimberly McCorkle, Provost ETSU
- Dr, David Mansouri, CEO TN SCORE
Session 3: Just before lunch, David Golden moderated an industry-focused panel that addressed both the pinchpoints and the potential for biotechnology in the region. From large, multinational corporations like ThermoFisher to manufacturing plants for materails as diverse as antibiotics and solar panels, the speakers emphasized the opportunity and the urgency to reshore vital capabilities. The case for doing this in East TN was made by
- Richard Rast, CEO, Highland Materials
- Patrick Cashman, CEO, US Antibiotics
- Sara Bastian, Senior Director,Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Mike Vaughn, President, Adora Life Science
Each session was intentionally interactive with time for questions and discussions among those present. It was a morning of learning, discussion, and encouragement for all present. After lunch and a closed door Session 4 with defense and security related partners, the tour portion of the day began.
Learning Lab@Ginkgo Bioworks
BioBuilder’s Dr. Danielle Gutelius and Allie Leslie taught the Seaport class of 24 eager students. And it was an incredibly diverse group with students coming from New Jersey, Beijing, Vancouver, Taiwan, and throughout the greater Boston area. Two West Point cadets also joined the group for the first week’s fun to learn more laboratory techniques!
During Week 1, the students worked hard on developing specific lab skills and gaining a thorough understanding of lab techniques that are involved in generating a bacterial system in synthetic biology. They used those skills to transform a plasmid of interest into a bacterial cell line, and then verified its DNA, inducing protein expression, and purified the protein product.
Amazingly, the students also squeezed in some shorter labs that allowed them to see the importance of chassis selection and the various types of outputs available. This understanding will be very useful as they design their group projects in Week 2.
The students have become much more comfortable with making and learning from mistakes, analyzing results, troubleshooting, and asking for help”
– Dr. Gutelius happily explains
A special surprise in Week 1 was a visit by the Boston BOSLab iGEM team who gave our students an overview of their 2025 iGEM project. The team also ran them through a protocol in which the students set up water samples from local waterways to evaluate for algal growth. The team will return next week to analyze the results and also give the students feedback on their group project designs.
During week 2, the students will focus on completing the design of their own group projects. There will also be a tour of Ginkgo Bioworks and several guest speakers, including three graduate students from the MIT Department of Biological Engineering. Amidst all of this excitement, the student teams will prepare to present their projects on the final day of the program.
One of the greatest parts of this program is seeing the students become confident in their lab skills and their ability to work through problems”
– Dr. Gutelius
Learning Lab at Allston Labworks
Another group of high schoolers completed the two-week Summer Research Program at BioBuilder’s newest lab, the Learning Lab@Allston Labworks. BioBuilder’s Dr. Hiroko Kaczmarek led the Allston group of 20 Boston area students through the same lessons, hands-on lab work, and guest speakers as the Seaport class, and they developed their own synthetic biology designs.
Dr. Kaczmarek is re-amazed every year at how much the students love being in the lab, but also how they absorb the material they are bombarded with!
They have quickly become expert pipetters and very good at following protocols in the lab”
says a very happy Dr. Kaczmarek!
Both classes will gather at BioBuilder’s Learning Lab @LabCentral on August 1st to present their biodesign projects to a gathering of their families and friends, as well as local science professionals and BioBuilder team members. Can you feel their excitement (and maybe their nervousness!)? We know how hard – and smart! – they’ve worked this summer, and we look forward to seeing their amazing designs!
“I am just impressed and awed by these young scholars,” says Dr. Kaczmarek. “Some have a very long commute yet always show up on time and ready to learn.”
Expedition: Bio
Expedition: Bio is a forward-thinking program of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research (WIBR) that helps introduce middle schoolers to synthetic biology and, hopefully, get them interested in learning more as they proceed through middle school, high school, and beyond.
BioBuilder partners with WIBR to provide their summer campers with additional classroom learning as well as hands-on lab learning during the second week of the two-week program.
So far this summer, BioBuilder has hosted one group of 23 Expedition: Bio students at the Learning Lab@Allston. BioBuilder’s Joe Switzer and Kate Bacon Schneider have been teaching Expedition: Bio students for several years, and they are delighted every year by the enthusiasm of these 7th and 8th grade students!
These budding scientists are introduced to several synthetic biology topics:
- The basics of the DNA to RNA to protein pathway
- Enzyme activity
- Bacterial transformation using plasmids
- Polymerase chain reactions
Each of these topics is examined through daily lab activities such as enzyme assays, bacterial transformation, PCR, and gel electrophoresis.
The students’ lab learning is supported and reinforced with visual and discussion-based classroom activities:
- Decoding DNA to find the traits of illustrated dragons
- Using toothpicks to demonstrate enzyme reactions
- Discussing different foods created using synthetic biology and if the students would eat them.
“The students were very receptive to new ideas,” says Switzer, “and the synthetic foods activity sparked a lot of discussion from them!”
The students also asked good questions during the classroom time and demonstrated a solid grasp of the concepts being learned. Seeing the results of the lab activities and discussing why they were seeing them was a highlight for both the students and instructors.
Most of our labs have a built-in ‘twist’ where they have at least one unexpected result, and it is great to get the students thinking and trying to solve the puzzle.”
– Joe Switzer
Another Expedition: Bio class will be at BioBuilder in August, and everyone is looking forward to inspiring and fostering curiosity in another group of bright middle schoolers!
Tennessee Teacher Professional Development
Mid-July was an exciting time for high school STEM teachers in northeast Tennessee! From July 8 to 11, BioBuilder’s Dr. Natalie Kuldell brought BioTechBuilder teacher training to 15 motivated teachers from this region.
The four-day workshop was held at Greeneville High School in Greeneville, Tennessee. The teachers were from seven northeast Tennessee high schools. Eight of them were new to the program and were there for all four days. Seven teachers from last year’s workshop joined in for the last two days to “brush up” on their skills and learn new ones.
The workshop was sponsored by the Niswonger Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Greeneville with the mission to “create opportunities for individual and community growth through education and other sustainable projects.” The Foundation, in collaboration with local teachers and school leaders, developed the BioSTEM curriculum that aims to prepare students for careers in biotech and life science by combining biology content with career exploration through hands-on technical training.
BioBuilder is one of the Foundation’s partners and provides professional development and resources to BioSTEM teachers.
The workshop followed the BioTechBuilder structure of teaching a few key concepts and then immediately moving to the lab to reinforce that learning with hands-on work. The topics the teachers discussed and then demonstrated in the lab were:
- Lab Safety
- Small Volume Metrology – red dye measurements, pipet calibration
- Aseptic Technique – culture prep, viability counts, data analysis
- Solution making – serial dilutions, multisolute solutions
- Foundations (DNA) – miniprep, gel loading
- Foundations (Protein) – β‑Gal enzyme assay
- Applications – BioManufacturing and synthetic biology
The teachers even got to “test” each other in mock microcredentialing demonstrations! These teachers may one day be preparing their own students to seek microcredentials, so going through the testing procedure will be an invaluable experience they can pass on to their students.
The week was chock full of learning, practicing, discussing, and just plain fun!
Congratulations to the teachers who are committed to bringing life-changing science to their students!