Event Offered Students Opportunity to Learn and Network
This week, MRIGlobal’s Kansas City headquarters hosted a cohort from the NIIMBL eXperience, which is offered to African American/Black, Latinx, and Native American students from around the country who are completing their freshman or sophomore year of college. The experience is intended to provide real-world insight into biopharmaceutical careers in industry, academia, government, and non-profits through hands-on activities and direct interactions with professionals.
During their day with us, the students learned about branding and networking, the bioeconomy, and how the different sectors of the bioecosystem overlap. In collaboration with representatives from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, and Kansas State University, our Dr. Amy Manning-Boğ spoke on MRIGlobal’s role in creating a vibrant biotech culture, presenting “Research Non-profits in Building a Biotech Ecosystem: Synergy through Collaboration.” Throughout the day’s activities, our Dr. Rachel Ginther, Kyle Parker, and Dr. Zach DeMars shared their expertise and advice with students. Our Dr. Kristin Aillon, Bobby Krumsick, Kyle Parker, and Dr. Kris Schumacher then hosted an engaging tour of MRIGlobal, including a look into our pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and engineering laboratories.
The students started the day knowing very little about MRIGlobal and the advancements we are making to support the safety and well-being of people everywhere. By the end of the day, they left in awe of the research performed at the institute, with one attendee saying, “I didn’t even know this was possible.” A great day for the NIIMBL students and a great day for MRIGlobal.
The NIIMBL experience project was developed with an award from the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) and financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology. BioKansas and the NIIMBL eXperience project was recently mentioned on page 27 of a White House Report focused on Building the Bioworkforce, as part of President Biden’s President Executive Order (E.O.) 14081 on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy.