PRIMER-Tropical Bioprospecting Venture at CETA

PRIMER-Tropical Bioprospecting Venture (PRIMER-TBV) educates primarily Hispanic high school/college educators in biotechnology within a tropical scenario, using a research-based, entrepreneurial approach for the search of new products. PRIMER-TBV is located at the Center for Excellence in Advanced Technology (CETA by its Spanish acronym) of the Universidad del Turabo (UT), which is located within a major hub for the global pharmaceutical industry (Barceloneta, PR). CETA operates as a specialized UT Center with a community college format that offers associate degrees in high demand industries such as biotechnology. The advisory board for this project is composed of individuals from existing ATE biotechnology projects and centers such as Bio-Link, area biotechnology industries, and university researchers. The participating high school teachers learn and practice fundamental biotechnology; college faculty develop materials and exemplary approaches for technical education; and university/industry partners serve as mentors while employing ATE-developed materials adapted from existing ATE projects, and materials specifically developed for this project. Approximately 4,800 pre-college and 480 technical students are directly benefiting from the professional development of participating educators.