According to a national labour market information study, access to talent is the greatest business challenge Canadian biotech companies are facing. We, therefore, developed an industry-inspired, medicinal research laboratory module in an experiential capstone biotechnology laboratory course. This involves developing a twelve-week semester-long graduate laboratory course, introducing the students to the biotechniques in microbiomics, genomics, proteomics, enzyme kinetics, drug screening, and bioinformatics, with accompanying class and lab participation (discussion forum), lab reports, and team-based assignments. The course furthered an in-depth knowledge of both industry-focused techniques and the theory behind them, as well as a genuine excitement for medical research. The skillsets honed by these labs and medicinal research modules are high in demand by prospective employers in the medical biotechnology industry as well as in academia.
December 28, 2025