Biotechnology in 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
Program Highlights

Residential Tuition :
$5,198
Extended Commuter Tuition:
$3,598
Commuter Tuition:
$2,998
Limited Capacity (11 Students):
July 24, 2022
August 5, 2022
To be held at 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.
The goal of this program is to provide students intensive laboratory skills experience, and to understand fundamental chemical processes common in prokaryotic and eukaryotic biology, and classical and molecular genetics with an emphasis on gene expression and genetic engineering.
Excursions in San Diego – Students do their daily class directly inside a biotechnology lab. This past summer 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 moreTopics 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.
