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Short Courses: Bioengineering & Biotechnology

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Featured Short Term Courses: Bioengineering & Biotechnology

University of California San Diego (Coursera)

University of California San Diego offers the drug development product management specialization in collaboration with the online course provider, Coursera. This drug development product management specialization familiarizes students with the process of drug discovery and its development. This 100 percent online course does not require any classroom attendance, all courses and lectures can be accessed via the internet.

This specialization is a series of courses helping students master drug development, drug regulations, marketing, clinical research, pharmacology, and clinical development skills. Students will have to finish a hands-on project to complete this specialization and earn their certificates. After completing all courses in this specialization, students will earn a certificate they can share with their professional network and prospective employers.

This specialization has the following three courses mentioned in the list below. Students are highly recommended to take courses in this particular order since it will give them a better understanding of how a drug is discovered in the lab before being tested in clinical trials and then launched in the marketplace.

Drug Discovery: Students in this course will go through the entire process of discovering a drug. They will learn to file a new drug application and will also be introduced to the steps that a biotech or pharmaceutical company goes through for discovering a new therapeutic drug

Drug Development: In this development course, students will learn about the different phases of clinical development. They will also learn about the registration and approval process after a drug is considered safe and effective

Drug Commercialization: This drug commercialization course will cover marketing strategy, pharmacoeconomic, portfolio management, intellectual property strategy, strategic alliances, and managed markets. Students will also discuss the post-marketing clinical trials

  • Location: San Diego, California
  • Accreditation: WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
  • Format: Online
  • Cost: N/A
  • Program length: Three months (three hours per week)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (edX)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded in 1861, is a private research university dedicated to advance knowledge and educate students in technology, science, and many other areas. The Science and Business of Biotechnology is an online short term course offered through edX, an online MOOC provider. Students in this program will explore the most recent scientific innovations for biotechnology.

The program will focus on early-phase biotechnology companies, and will particularly emphasize understanding technology and disease targets. Students will also learn to apply financing methods and new business structures for facilitating clinical development, drug discovery, and better patient access to the latest therapies.

The syllabus includes ten weeks of instruction, with the first one being an introduction to healthcare finance and biotech. Some of the topics covered in the curriculum include therapeutic recombinant proteins, capital budgeting, gene editing, clinical trials, antibody generation, monoclonal antibodies, healthcare analytics, cancer immunotherapeutic, nucleic acid therapies, and more.

Students will learn to apply financial techniques like portfolio theory, derivative securities, and securitization to biomedicine. By applying these techniques, they will be able to develop more efficient funding and business structures for reducing financial risks, lowering capital costs, and bringing better therapies for patients.

Upon completion, students can pursue an official instructor-signed certificate for verifying their achievements and increasing their job prospects. This certificate can be added to their resume or posted to LinkedIn.

  • Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Accreditation: New England Commission of Higher Education
  • Format: Online
  • Cost: Free
  • Program length: 16 weeks (10 to 12 hours per week)

Udemy

Udemy offers an online short course: “Biotechnology Business, Law, and Science.” This online short course is ideal for students who are new to biotechnology, as well as scientists and entrepreneurs who seek to have a better understanding of the business side of biotechnology. The faculty of the program includes professional instructors who have years of experience in this field.

Consisting of 57 lectures, the content of the course is divided into 18 sections with the first one being an overview and introduction to the biotechnology section. The curriculum includes topics such as biotechnology development, molecular biology, drug development, biotechnology techniques and tools, biotechnology applications, the biotechnology business, and managing biotechnology, among others.

Students through this course will have a detailed understanding of the commercial factors that drive and constrain biotechnology development. They will also learn about biotechnology regulation, the science behind biotechnology, and domestic and international biotechnology policy decisions.

  • Location: Online
  • Accreditation: N/A
  • Format: Online
  • Cost: $9.46
  • Program length: 6h 32m total length

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Coursera)

The Icahn School of Medicine offers the “Systems Biology and Biotechnology” specialization in collaboration with the online course provider, Coursera. This systems biology and biotechnology specialization has been designed to provide students and professionals with expertise in biomedical data sciences and biotechnology. They learn about the methodologies and concepts in systems biology including dynamical modeling, bioinformatics, genomics, statistical modeling, and proteomics.

This specialization covers the methodologies and concepts used in the analysis of biomedical systems. Students will have to finish a hands-on project to complete this specialization and earn their certificate. After completing all courses in this specialization, students will earn a certificate they can share with their professional network and prospective employers.

There are six courses in this specialization:

Introduction to Systems Biology: This course introduces students to contemporary systems biology focusing on mammalian cells.

Experimental Methods in Systems Biology: This course provides a vast overview of a range of experimental techniques that are used in modern systems biology, including the use of quantitative data needed for computational calculations. Students will dive deeply into four technologies: mRNA sequencing, flow or mass cytometry, live-cell imaging, and mass spectrometry-based proteomics.

Network Analysis in Systems Biology: This is an introduction to data integration and statistical methods that are used in bioinformatics, systems pharmacology research, and contemporary systems biology.

Dynamical Modeling Methods for Systems Biology: This course introduces students to dynamical modeling techniques that are used in contemporary systems biology research.

Integrated Analysis in Systems Biology: The focus of this course is to develop integrative skills through analysis of the current primary literature and directed reading.

Systems Biology and Biotechnology Capstone

Overall, students will learn about designing experiments (systems-level) by using appropriate techniques, collecting big data, and analyzing and interpreting small as well as big data sets quantitatively.

  • Location: New York City, New York
  • Accreditation: Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  • Format: Online
  • Cost: N/A
  • Program length: 10 months (two hours per week)

Udemy

“Biotechnology: Antibodies & their role in Therapeutics” is an online short course offered by Udemy. It is ideal for researchers, doctors, medical students, and students in immunology, biology, biotechnology, molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, and cell biology disciplines. It is also a perfect fit for anyone who wishes to gain an in-depth understanding of the immune system and antibodies.

This biotechnology course covers the different categories of antibodies that circulate in the tissue fluid and bloodstream. It also provides an understanding of genetic mechanisms that allow the immune systems to generate these antibodies. Students will also have an idea about passive and active immunity. The course introduces students to several therapeutic antibodies such as humanized monoclonal antibodies, fully human monoclonal antibodies, and chimeric monoclonal antibodies.

Comprising 79 lectures, the curriculum of this course has been divided into seventeen divisions with the first one being an introductory section. The syllabus includes topics such as the basic structure of antibodies, immunoglobulin domains, complement system, immunoglobulin genes, antibody engineering, monoclonal antibodies, and plasma therapy among others.

Students will learn about how antibody structures are used for creating bispecific antibodies, immunotoxins, abzymes, and more to treat arthritis, cancer, and other hormonal, autoimmune, and viral diseases.

  • Location: Online
  • Accreditation: N/A
  • Format: Online
  • Cost: Around $9.46
  • Program length: 5h 33m total length

Georgetown University (edX)

One of the world’s leading research and academic institutions, Georgetown University offers a short course, Introduction to Bioethics, offered through edX, an online MOOC provider. Students receive a world-class learning experience through experienced faculty members.

The course introduces students to bioethics, exploring some of the most rigorous and fundamental moral challenges that arise in health, biotechnology, and medicine. This is an ideal course for policymakers, undergraduates, healthcare professionals, and anyone who is interested in ethics or philosophy.

The course is delivered over sixteen weeks, introducing students to a range of issues defining bioethics. Students learn to identify core philosophy principles in bioethics. They will develop scientific knowledge related to bioethics subjects such as genetic enhancement, euthanasia, and abortion. The course will help students in understanding key bioethics expressions such as medical futility and informed consent.

On successful completion of the program, graduates can pursue a verified, instructor signed certificate with the institution’s logo for verifying their achievements and increasing their job prospects. This certificate can be added to their resume or posted to LinkedIn.

  • Location: Online
  • Accreditation: N/A
  • Format: Online
  • Cost: Free
  • Program length: 16 weeks (three to five hours per week)

Udemy

The “Industrial Biotechnology” online short course offered by Udemy provides newcomers with knowledge regarding three of the greatest sectors of this biotech industry: enzymatic biotechnology, genetic engineering, and industrial-scale culture of microorganisms.

The course provides students with basic knowledge about biological enzymes, molecules, DNA, biochemistry, and cellular structures. It is ideal for engineers, chemists, biologists, young scientists, science students, and bio-technologists.

Consisting of 11 lectures, the subject of this course is split into four sections with the first one being an introductory chapter. The syllabus includes topics such as genetic engineering, microorganisms at an industrial scale, and enzymatic biotechnology.

Students in this course dive into this ever-growing biotechnology world getting a basic knowledge about molecules, cellular biology, and interest in biotech.

  • Location: Online
  • Accreditation: N/A
  • Format: Online
  • Cost: $9.46
  • Program length: 1h 9m total length

The University of Manchester (Coursera)

The University of Manchester offers an online short course titled, Industrial Biotechnology. The course covers the key enabling technologies that support biotechnology research including systems and synthetic biology, process and biochemical engineering, and enzyme discovery and engineering. Most of this material will be delivered via lectures for ensuring that students have a strong foundation in these areas. ​This program is delivered in collaboration with the online course provider, Coursera.

The course comprises six weeks in total. The curriculum includes topics such as enzymes, enzyme discovery and engineering, methods in systems and synthetic biology, biochemical and bioprocess engineering, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, case studies: bioenergy and biomaterials, and case studies: glycoscience and biotherapeutics.

Students through this course will be able to explain the methodologies and technologies underpinning synthetic biology and systems. They will have a detailed understanding of the role and principles of biochemical engineering and bioprocessing in industrial biotechnology. They will also be able to give examples of industrial biotechnology processes and products and their application in agriculture, healthcare, fine chemicals, energy, and the environment.

  • Location: Manchester, England
  • Accreditation: N/A
  • Format: Online
  • Cost: Free
  • Program length: 11 hours

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