Biotech 002 - Basic Lab Techniques

Fall 2023 - We will offer 3 Biotech 002 sections. 

Sections #1: General (open to anyone) - offered at Pierce

This section is open to everyone: current Pierce students and non-Pierce students.

Course Schedule: Saturday & Sunday - 10:00 am to 2:10 pm (CFS92004 - room subject to change)

Sections #2: Van Nuys Dual Enrollment  - offered at Van Nuys High School

This section is designed with a special arrangement for Van Nuys High School students. This section will span over 2 semesters (Fall 2023 and Spring 2024) but with only 4 hours/ week course commitment.

Course Schedule: Wednesday & Thursday - 3:45 pm to 5:50 pm (Van Nuys High School campus)

Sections #3: Combined Dual Enrollment - offered at Pierce

This section is designed with a special arrangement for Reseda and El Camino High Schools. The schedule has yet to be determined.

Course Schedule: Tuesday (3:30 - 7:05 pm) & Friday (4:30 - 7:05 pm) @ Pierce campus

What should you expect to learn in this course:

• Industry-standard laboratory notebook (GDocP)
• Laboratory math... believe me, it's not hard!!
• Laboratory safety
• Survey of basic laboratory tools/ instrument
• Good Laboratory Practices (GLP)
• SOP and Batch Record
• Principle of quality and validation
• Aseptic technique
• GMP and basic manufacturing of laboratory reagents (media & buffers)
• Spectrophotometry
• Basic techniques for working with microbes
• Basic molecular cloning techniques
• Employability skills

Biotech 003 - Molecular & Biochemistry Techniques

Spring 2023

Sat & Sun - 10:00 am to 2:00 pm (CFS92004)

What should you expect to learn in this course:

• Microbial growth curve
• DNA amplification (standard & quantitative)
• DNA sequencing
• Biopharmaceutical vs Bioindustrial manufacturing
• Various protein separation techniques
• Protein analysis (physical and functional)
• Lyophilization
• Blotting technique
• ELISA
• Bioinformatics (databases, alignments, & molecular visualization)
• Design of experiment
• Independent project
• Presentation technique

See the Available Projects for the Spring of 2023

VocEd660 - Exploring Biotech Career

Mon, Wed, Fri - 9:00 am to noon

June 12 - July 7

This course is great if you are not familiar with Biotechnology, and are interested to learn more about career opportunities and get a glimpse of simple laboratory tasks/experiments.

VocEd661 - Exploring Bioscience Entrepreneurship

Tu & Thu - 9:00 am to 1:30 pm

June 13 - July 6

This course is suitable for anyone who is interested to explore entrepreneurship within the Bioscience industry. Familiarity with biotech/ bioscience laboratory helps, but not required.

If you are a high school student:

1. 1. Obtain Pierce College student ID number - you need to be admitted to the college first in order to get your student ID number.
   2. Complete the K-12 form. This has to be completed by you, your parent/ guardian, and the high school counselor.
   3. Once your K-12 form has been signed, you can finally enroll in the class through our online registration system.
      • VocEd 660 - course number: 14743
      • VocEd 661 - course number: 14744
      • They are non-credit courses!

If you are already a Pierce College student:

• You can register for the class through our online registration system!