United States
Authentic scientific experiences spark engagement. This BioMADE project is supporting a biomanufacturing track within the BioBuilderClub program – allowing high school students throughout the country to carry out meaningful research with industry-grade reagents and tools from Daicel Arbor, and then publish their work in a peer reviewed journal for high school synthetic biologists. The BioBuilderClub program operates similarly to iGEM but on a time scale that aligns with U.S. secondary schools and at a price point of ~$50/student. BioBuilder's founder and executive director, Dr. Natalie Kuldell, will describe the coordinate effort between BioBuilder, ETSU, Ars BioTechnica and Daicel Arbor that is building momentum for biotechnology and biomanufacturing careers nationwide, including in the hard-to-reach rural and inner-city schools.