Why Biotech
We are experiencing an unparalleled boom in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, particularly in the Boston area. The biotechnology industry, which predates by 20 years the explosion in genetic information derived from the sequencing of the human genome, has produced numerous important drugs such as Epogen, Avonex, human growth hormone, and clotting factor VIII. However, our newly acquired ability to decipher novel genes and to identify new therapeutic proteins, or protein targets for drug intervention, has dramatically increased the pace of drug development. Thus, the discoveries made by bioinformaticists will continue to drive the demand for biotechnologists engaged in downstream research and development activities, including target validation in the laboratory, analysis of potential therapeutics for efficacy and toxicity, and process scale-up for drug production.