Biotechnology at UC San Diego

This is a unique opportunity to work in a biotech lab on state-of-the-art equipment with scientists focused on Parkinson’s disease research

Summer program for teens to immerse themselves in San Diego's cutting edge biotech scene

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Program Highlights

In partnership with a biotech company, work alongside scientists discovering treatments for various diseases.

Start with molecule design and compound creation, and follow the process to the point of in vitro biological activity.

Learn how to isolate a protein, and see how it reacts to various compounds in an advanced research laboratory.

Create a molecule, and test its biological results practicing the scientific method from hypothesis to conclusion.

Residential Tuition :
$5,698*

Commuter Tuition:
$3,298*

*Required Course Supplement:
$250

Session 1:
June 29, 2025 July 11, 2025

Session 2:
July 13, 2025 July 25, 2025

Session 3:
July 27, 2025 August 8, 2025

UC San Diego
San Diego, CA

Course Overview

Are you interested in medicine, science, and technology? Is you goal to create a life-saving drug? This is a unique opportunity for high school students to gain real exposure and work in a biotechnology lab utilizing state-of-the-art equipment.

Excursions in San Diego – Students do their daily class directly inside a biotechnology lab. In past summers students toured JLabs and other incubators in San Diego, as well as met with scientists from Sazid Hussain, Chief Scientific Officer of Aivo Code, a biotech company working on therapies for traumatic brain injuries.

Meet your instructor

Dr. Vicki Nienaber-Meadows, Ph.D.

Biotechnology

Dr. Nienaber has over 30 years’ experience at large companies, mid-sized biotech, and her own biotech, Zenobia Therapeutics.

Learn more

Topics you'll explore

Hands-On Learning

Biotechnology is all about harnessing the power of living cells and materials for use in environmental, diagnostic, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. In this course, students have the ability to actually create something in chemistry lab and test it its biological state. In small groups, students will spend time learning from experts and practicing applied methods from the very beginning of drug discovery (stage zero) to the point right before animal testing.

Career Exploration

The biotechnology industry draws from a variety of different specialties, with microbiology, genetics, biochemistry, and I.T. all having a significant impact. Zenobia Therapeutics was founded in 2008 with a focus on discovering treatments for neurodegenerative diseases using fragment-based lead discovery.