Partners & Collaborators

Partnership opportunities are available for colleges or universities with biotech programs that want to enrich the educational experience for students by facilitating real-world research. Biotech GPS incorporates genomic research directly into classrooms, strengthens students’ competitiveness in the biotech workforce, and advances annotation of the blueberry genome. 

Current partners and collaborating organizations include Clemson University, Davidson College, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Washington State University and N.C. State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute. Biotech GPS welcomes new partnership opportunities and can be contacted here.

An N.C. Biotechnology Center grant supported development of the Biotech GPS program. Database resource development funded by the USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

 

PROGRAM LEADERS

Dr. Allan Brown  (N.C. State University Plants for Human Health Institute)

Dr. Brown is an applied molecular geneticist and assistant professor with the Plants for Human Health Institute. He started the Biotech GPS program in 2013 with a grant from the N.C. Biotechnology Center.

Brown is leading the team that is sequencing the blueberry genome. It’s a large step toward understanding the genetic information of the blueberry, specifically which genes are responsible for making the health-protective components in the fruits. It is expected to yield discoveries in both medical and agricultural research.

Brown is also working to identify compounds in broccoli that are associated with certain health benefits, such as cancer prevention, and is developing broccoli lines that have higher levels of anti-carcinogenic and other beneficial compounds.

afbrown2@ncsu.edu | 704-250-5417

 

Dr. Malcolm Campbell  (Davidson College)

Dr. Malcolm Campbell is a professor of biology at Davidson College, his alma mater, where he has worked for 14 years. He teaches multiple biology-related courses and labs, including topics like introductory biology; molecular biology; genomics, proteomics and systems biology; and laboratory methods in genomics.

Campbell has been involved in many projects outside of the classroom including being co-editor of CBE Life Sciences Education and founding the Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT). Campbell and Davidson College were founding partners of the Biotech GPS program.

macampbell@davidson.edu | 704-894-2692

 

Dr. Charles David  (N.C. State University Plants for Human Health Institute)

Dr. David is a research associate with the Plants for Human Health Institute, where he serves as a bioinformatics support specialist with Dr. Allan Brown for Biotech GPS. He works directly with the partnering institutions and students to oversee implementation of the bioinformatics and genomics research into the classrooms. Further, he coordinates development of program resources and tools, such as this website, and provides program leadership for the day-to-day operations. David has a strong background in physics and taught math and science courses at both the high school and college level.

ccdavid2@ncsu.edu | 704-250-5469

 

 

Dr. Stephen Ficklin  (Washington State University)

Dr. Ficklin is a Bioinformatics Research Associate for the Main Bioinformatics Laboratory at Washington State University. Formerly at the Clemson University Genomics Institute, Ficklin leads the team that develops the Tripal web front end for Chado. He is also the laboratory database adminstrator and systems administrator. Working remotely from South Carolina, he is completing his Ph.D. studies at Clemson University. Tripal is a collection of Drupal modules under development at WSU, the University of Saskatchewan and CUGI that serve as a web front-end for Chado databases.

spficklin@gmail.com

 

Dr. Ann Loraine  (UNC-Charlotte)

Dr. Loraine is an associate professor with the Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Loraine is based at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, where her lab develops computational and experimental approaches for studying how alternative splicing patterns affect gene function, focusing on environmental stress responses in plants. Complementary to this work, she develops highly-interactive genome display software (like the Integrated Genome Browser) useful for inspecting splicing patterns and exploring genome-scale data sets.

aloraine@uncc.edu | 704-250-5750

 

 

Dr. Doreen Main  (Washington State University)

Dr. Main was raised in the beautiful highlands of Northern Scotland. Focusing on horticultural and other crop species, Main and her lab collaborate with many other researchers worldwide to develop bioinformatic tools to further the field of fruit and plant systems biology. Currently at Washington State University, she is an Associate Professor of Bioinformatics in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.

dorrie@wsu.edu | 509-335-2774
 

 

 

Dr. Robert Reid  (UNC-Charlotte)

Dr. Reid is an assistant professor with the Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He's part of the university's bioinformatics team located at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis.

rreid2@uncc.edu | 704-250-5766

 

 

 

Scott Schaefer_Lenoir-Rhyne UniversityDr. Scott Schaefer  (Lenoir-Rhyne University)

Dr. Scott Schaefer is an associate professor of biology at Lenoir-Rhyne University. He teaches undergraduate students, advising and mentoring them while promoting student activities and guiding student research projects. Schaefer and Lenoir-Rhyne are primary educational partners in Biotech GPS, along with Davidson College, having begun introducing the research and tools into courses in 2013. He lectures on fundamental topics of biology, ecological concepts and genetics.

scott.schaefer@lr.edu | 828-328-7879