How an innovative, interdisciplinary program at UW-Madison is preparing people for success in the still-evolving new world of the biotech industry.

By Bill Shepard

Predicting the future is tricky business.

Yet it is a widely held truth that biotechnology will be an integral part of the future “new economy.” And UW-Madison’s Master of Science in Biotechnology degree program is jump-starting the careers of many who are hoping to succeed in the brave new world of biotech.

“The mission of the program is to provide leaders and advocates for biotechnology through a fusion of science, business and law,” says Richard L. Moss, executive director of the M.S. in Biotechnology Program and chair of the Department of Physiology, where he also serves as a professor. “Once the idea for this program began to develop, the tremendous groundswell of support from across the university, the state and the local industry made it impossible not to develop this program.”

The program’s cross-disciplinary curriculum is offered in a flexible, two-year format geared specifically toward professionals who work full time. Graduates and employers alike value the program’s rigorous, leading-edge courses taught by UW-Madison’s world-class faculty in tandem with leaders from the biotech industry.

“This is a graduate-level biotechnology program of choice for technical professionals, scientists, attorneys and business strategists from around the country,” says Kurt J. Zimmerman, the program’s associate director. “In fact, 90 percent of our graduates cite a considerable impact on their careers even prior to graduation. This program enhances their ability to serve as technological entrepreneurs, facilitating product development and technology transfer — a role that is as valuable in a three-person startup as it is in a Fortune 500 enterprise.”

How is this program transforming professionals into the future leaders of the biotechnology industry?

Just ask some of the M.S. in Biotechnology Program’s recent graduates.

A California native, Michael Bragin was no stranger to biotechnology.

He had worked and attended school in what many consider to be the “birthplace of biotech” — San Francisco. He also gained significant business experience in biotech while at CIBC World Markets’ Healthcare Investment Banking Division in Menlo Park, Calif., where he helped chalk up more than $1.25 billion dollars in transactions relating to the life sciences.

So when he set his sights on a graduate degree in biotech, you’d think he might have selected one of the Golden State’s prestigious university programs in the field.

Think again.

Bragin chose UW-Madison’s M.S. in Biotechnology Program, hands down.

“What sets the UW program apart from others is the all-encompassing approach to business, science, law and ethics,” Bragin says. “It helps turn scientists into better business people, and vice versa.”

While Bragin already had a strong business and economic background, he says he appreciated the program’s “firm commitment to teaching business, finance, marketing and management principles.”

Not only did he strengthen his theoretical understanding of scientific principles, but he also found that he immediately could apply what he learned in practical settings.

“While I was enrolled in the program, I worked for Bone Care International, Inc., in Madison,” he recalls. "Someone at work had been discussing the complications of running and interpreting results for certain tests on potential drug compounds, and right away I understood what they were talking about, as we had discussed these tests in class the week before."

For Bragin, the UW’s M.S. in Biotechnology Program has paved his path to the future.

As a Laboratory Technician working at the Monsanto Co.’s Agracetus Campus in Middleton, Wis., Erik Dersch had been putting his scientific background to good use. But after about two and a half years, he wanted to further his scientific career.

“While I enjoyed my work on genetically modified soybeans, I didn’t want to limit myself to a graduate degree focused on soy genetics,” he says.

Instead, he wanted to augment his scientific background with business courses.

“But pursuing an MBA was not a good fit for me,” he says. “I wanted a more well-rounded science-business background. That’s why I chose UW-Madison’s M.S. in Biotechnology Program.”

Dersch found that the program’s flexible format accommodated his full-time work schedule at Monsanto. Upon graduation, he was promoted to the position of Research Associate at the company, entailing a higher level of responsibility in the realm of research and development.

“I bring more to the table now, as I have a stronger foundation in licensing, patenting, marketing and regulatory issues,” he notes. “I’m also pursuing science in its purest form, designing and performing experiments that could lead to patents. In short, I enjoy my work more.”

Lynda Bader was ready for a change.

She had achieved success as a strategic consultant to the insurance industry and state government in Wisconsin, and she possessed extensive project management experience working for a number of industries throughout the state.

But she wanted to do more with her life, and was attracted to the life-enhancing benefits offered by the world of biotechnology.

“It’s a growing field, generating new therapies and discoveries that help people lead enhanced, productive lives,” Bader says.

When considering the range of graduate-level biotechnology programs across the country, she says she knew there was only one choice: UW-Madison.

“Few, if any, universities in the world offer the breadth and depth of expertise – from the hard sciences, to business, to bioethics and law,” Bader says.

Bader described UW-Madison’s M.S. in Biotechnology Program as a “model of industrial and academic collaboration.”

“UW faculty and industry scientists team-teach the courses and labs, which are structured in industrial settings,” she notes. “The curriculum is purposefully diversified with scientists, lawyers and business/operations professionals — which mirrors the interdisciplinary teams that function every day at biotechnology companies.”

Today, Bader serves as a delivery assurance manager at GE Healthcare in Waukesha, Wis.

When Scott Schneider reached a turning point in his life, UW-Madison’s M.S. in Biotechnology Program offered a career-transforming solution.

“I needed to reinvent myself,” says Schneider, who now serves as chief operating officer of aOva Technologies, Inc., a Madison-based biotechnology startup that commercializes a patented egg-based animal feed technology discovered at UW-Madison.

The year was 2002. The unpredictable egg commodity market, with its dramatically fluctuating prices, led Schneider to a major decision: sell off his egg farm in Lake Mills, a large family-run operation spanning several generations.

Weighing his options, Schneider was attracted to the emerging field of biotechnology, particularly the UW-Madison Animal Sciences Department’s pioneering antibody protein research involving the use of eggs.

“I had the business background, having run an operation that produced 288 million eggs per year,” Schneider says. “But my science background was lacking.”

He decided to enroll in UW-Madison’s M.S. in Biotechnology Program, and hasn’t looked back since. According to Schneider, the program offers invaluable real-world business experience when it comes to working together with scientists to bring their discoveries to market.

“The program’s core disciplines — science, business and law — are like the legs of a three-legged stool,” he says. “They’re all interrelated. You can’t get by with knowing just one or two of the disciplines. You need to master all three to succeed. This is the program’s biggest strength.”

Jennifer Fronczak was on the fast track to a flourishing scientific career. Having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., she quickly established herself as a junior scientist at the Carlsbad, Calif.-based Invitrogen Corp., a global pharmaceutical/biotechnology company with operations in Madison.

But Fronczak knew that she needed to master a broader array of disciplines to grow professionally, and to help her company grow as well.

And her employer knew this, too.

“Of the growing number of graduate-level programs in biotechnology, UW-Madison’s was the only one offering a cross-disciplinary approach to science, business and law,” says Fronczak. “Comparable programs at other universities tend to focus on just one of those disciplines.”

Not only did Invitrogen encourage her to enroll as one of the program’s very first students back in 2002, but it also covered almost all of her tuition.

After graduating from the program in 2004, she was promoted to the position of group leader at Invitrogen, managing projects and teams of other scientists. Today she serves as a manufacturing/applications scientist at BellBrook Labs, a Madison-based company that provides the pharmaceutical industry with screening tools to accelerate the discovery of effective therapies.

Making the World a Better Place

The biotechnology industry is the wave of the future. In 2004 alone, biotech generated more than $46 billion in revenues in the United States.

But the field is about more than just dollars and cents. It improves people’s lives, from finding cures to life-threatening diseases, to providing enhanced agricultural products, to developing new technologies ensuring a cleaner and safer environment.

By generating future waves of biotech professionals, UW-Madison’s Master of Science in Biotechnology Program is helping make the world a better place — one graduate at a time.

Visit our archives to read articles from previous issues of the UW Business Wire.

Interested in learning more about the MS-Biotech program?

A 12-page PDF brochure for students considering admission for fall 2006 is available for download.