Biotechnology
Education:
Austin Community College
Certificate in Biotechnology, 2000
Working on A.A.S. degree, 2001 (expected)
Employer:
Stratagene/BioCrest
Stratagene is a biotechnology company that produces innovative products for life science research. Stratagene develops and manufactures a wide-range of biotechnology reagents and systems that are recognized as high-quality, time-saving products. Stratagene's product line has recently been expanded to meet the needs of researchers in fields such as neurobiology cell biology and genetic toxicology,. Stratagene was founded in 1984 and currently employs more than 300 people. BioCrest is the exclusive manufacturer for Stratagene and was established in Cedar Creek, Texas in 1999.
Job Description and Responsibilities:
"I have several different kinds of work at Stratagene/BioCrest. One of my jobs is to cut plasmid vectors with restriction endonucleases and do quality control on them. I also make markers for the plasmids such the lac C gene which turns the bacteria blue. This is a fun marker to us and a great indicator of the success of the transformation. I also work with helper phages which increase the competence of the bacteria. Therefore I do a lot of transformation work as well as digests and packaging in my lab team of 10 people. The other kind of work I do is to make sonicated salmon sperm which is a Stratagene product used as a blocking agent for hybridization."
Personal Background:
"I went to Texas A&M for two years majoring in marine biology. I decided to change my major and started at ACC. My microbiology professor suggested that I look into the biotechnology program that was getting started. I have finished my first year of the program and am working at Stratagene/BioCrest while I complete the second year and get my A.A.S. degree."
Commonly Used Skills and Techniques:
Sonicator, cesium chloride banding, agarose gel electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation, plasmid extractions and Southern blots.
Most Rewarding Job Attributes:
"My job is never boring; it's different all the time. I enjoy working with part of a team and I especially like all the new techniques I am learning."
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