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FiberCell Systems
I was so caught up in blogging the Herald-Mail articles yesterday (aside from my normal duties as a biotech entrepreneur), that I overlooked an article in the Frederick News-Post about LifeLine Cell Technology in Walkersville.
Although the title is somewhat sensational, “Walkersville company grows cornea”, it is a nice feature on a small business tucked away in Walkersville that really deserves more attention. I know I give them enough press, but a lot of people still aren’t familiar with them. The astute reader will know that the cornea news is actually over a year old and most of that research is going on in California at the parent company International Stem Cell Corp. I don’t want to diminish the newsworthiness of their research and wish them great success in the future.
Two more articles in the Herald-Mail today are both related to the “cutting edge” program Washington County is using in the High School sciences called Project Lead the Way. The first is called “School’s biomed program on cutting edge” and the second one is “Tech students have variety of biomed career opportunities“. They run the Biotechnology program through Washington County Technical High School, or Tech High for short.
There appears to be some really great stuff going on there. A summary of some of the classes offered:
Principles of Biomedical Sciences explores the concepts of human medicine and gives them hands-on projects — using animal organs — to investigate human body systems and various health conditions. For example, students team up to determine what led to the death of a fictional person.
In the second course, which Irwin also is teaching to this year’s juniors, students study how human body systems work together “like a machine,” to maintain internal balance and health, she said. Hands-on projects include designing experiments and using software to monitor body functions.
Next fall, she will begin teaching the third course, Medical Interventions, in which students will investigate ways such as gene therapy, pharmacology, surgery, prosthetics, rehabilitation and supportive care to extend and improve the quality of life. Using 3-D imaging, they’ll design a product that can be used as a medical intervention.
So, now I am really jealous. I wonder when we’re going to get a program like this in FredCo?
