Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) is the largest of the seven schools in the Maine Community College System, with over 7,000 full- and part-time students. Students who participate in the two-year Biotechnology degree program acquire laboratory skills and theoretical background for either employment or transfer to other four-year colleges or universities. Maine has targeted biotechnology as a key future growth sector, and SMCC’s biotechnology program is designed to support this growth.
Through the INBRE program SMCC is renovating its Microbiology Lab to meet the needs of current molecular techniques and increased course offerings to provide a more thorough training for students in molecular biology and exposure to biomedical research in genomics, advanced techniques in genetics and other areas of biotechnology. INBRE is also upgrading laboratory equipment and supplies for Biotechnology classes on campus. Better preparation in biomedical research techniques will benefit the students, their future employers, and Maine’s overall scientific capacity.
INBRE provides SMCC students the opportunity to attend short courses and is expanding the number of internship opportunities for students at MDIBL and other research laboratories. INBRE is also supporting scientific seminars in comparative functional genomics.
Fall/Spring Internships
As part of the Biotechnology degree at SMCC students are required to do an internship of at least 120 hours. INBRE provides support for these research internships and connections to opportunities with researchers at many sites around Maine.
Summer Research Fellowships
The INBRE Summer Research Fellowships Program pairs individual students with a federally-funded biomedical researcher of the student’s choice for a 10-week hands-on summer research experience. Funding is provided for lodging, food, and supplies for student participants.
Two Summer Research Fellowships are awarded annually to SMCC students to work with a faculty member at an INBRE network institution. Additional fellowships are available to SMCC students to work with researchers at local institutions, such as Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Foundation for Blood Research, University of Southern Maine, and local biotechnology companies such as IDEXX labs, SDiX and Alere.
Laboratory Training Course at the MDI Biological Laboratory
Each year, SMCC students have the opportunity to participate in a one-week laboratory course at the MDI Biological Laboratory during January break. The course focuses on using molecular biology techniques for genetic research.
Scientific Speakers Program
INBRE supports a seminar series throughout the academic year.