Professor Amine Kamen, from the Department of Bioengineering at 污污草莓视频 University, recently shared with us the importance of enhancing Canada鈥檚 biomanufacturing sector, especially regarding pandemic preparedness. He highlighted the value of having highly qualified personnel in biomanufacturing, which can be achieved through internships that combine theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience.
Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, Prof. Kamen highlighted the need for a more robust response capacity for such crises, particularly in terms of skilled personnel. This realization inspired the creation of a graduate program at 污污草莓视频 that integrates theoretical and practical training through industry partnerships. In Fall 2022, Prof. Kamen launched the Master鈥檚 in Engineering with a concentration in Biomanufacturing Graduate Program at 污污草莓视频. This program allows students to gain deeper knowledge and practical training in the biomanufacturing sector. This past year, the program benefitted from support from 顿2搁鈥檚 Training Awards funding program, where eight students participated in industry internships at Moderna and Biovectra, covering areas such as plasmid DNA, mRNA manufacturing, and RNA-based biologics.
Prof. Kamen noted that a country鈥檚 biomanufacturing capacity needs to be active, sustainable, and integrated within a larger ecosystem. It is not only important to develop vaccines but also having skilled professionals ready to act in a critical situation of a pandemic. Internships play a critical role in nurturing this talent by preparing highly qualified personnel in the biomanufacturing of biologics. This is essential for producing high-quality, effective products during health crises.
The program鈥檚 success lies in its ability to provide professional training which is often missing in academia. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like medical work. You can have theoretical training, but without practical training, a doctor cannot work effectively. Similarly, in biomanufacturing, you need professional training, and this is why we have industry partners in this program,鈥� Prof. Kamen explained. He described the partnership between academia and industry as a 鈥渟hared responsibility,鈥� which is essential for developing qualified personnel. Acknowledging this symbiotic relationship between theoretical and practical experience is crucial for effectively addressing real-world challenges.
The interns at Moderna and Biovectra participate in various biomanufacturing projects. Students receive close mentorship from both industry supervisors and academic advisors, gaining valuable experience and academic credit. Prof. Kamen is deeply involved with his students, especially those interested in pursuing a career in biomanufacturing. 鈥淲e work closely with our students and are very active in mentoring them during their internships,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y key advice is to build your experience. There is enormous potential that you will succeed if you are sufficiently motivated to achieve something.鈥�
He also highlighted the uniqueness of the program, 鈥淲hat makes the graduate program special is that it鈥檚 very focused on manufacturing biologics.鈥� Prof. Kamen believes the program will significantly contribute to advancements in biomanufacturing, acknowledging that the explosion in RNA therapeutics was built on years of progress in science. For example, while early attempts to deliver DNA in vivo failed, the lessons learned from these efforts paved the way for the use of mRNA instead. Prof. Kamen elaborated, 鈥淲hat is the big difference between mRNA and DNA? Both use information to initiate a cascade of biological events for protein expression. The critical difference is that if you code with DNA, it has to translocate to the nucleus. Whereas, with mRNA, delivering to the cytoplasm is sufficient to initiate the expression of the antigen. Clearly the knowledge that was accumulated with DNA vaccination attempts has been effectively transposed to using mRNA. mRNA vaccination emerged as a technological jump in the synthetic biology area. When we do in vitro transcription, we are doing what a cell is doing but in vitro, and this is a great example of the synthetic biology concept. So, all this is integrated into the new program, without forgetting the biological and engineering bases that made this possible. The knowledge of DNA delivery was part of the successful story for the delivery of RNA. But the science of RNA was instrumental.鈥�
Prof. Kamen advocates for a global perspective, recognizing that viruses do not respect borders and vaccines are needed for all populations across the world. He believes this internship program helps build capacity for Canada and globally. Many of the international students in the program will return home as 鈥淏iomanufacturing Ambassadors of Canada鈥� contributing to the global effort in manufacturing biologics and developing RNA therapeutics. With the acceleration of mRNA technology, creating highly qualified personnel through biomanufacturing internships adds immense value to Canada as well as to the world鈥檚 health.
