Professional Development Short Courses

BRITE offers short courses designed for job seekers or current employees in the biotechnology sector who wish to enhance their skills through continuing education. BRITE’s short courses provide an efficient, cost-effective avenue for companies to retool existing employees to meet evolving product goals, or for job seekers to prepare themselves to fill employment gaps in North Carolina’s growing biotechnology industry. BRITE’s short courses provide valuable hands-on training on the same instrumentation and equipment found in an industrial setting. BRITE can customize any of our existing courses or create new ones to suit your company’s unique training needs.

Professional Development Short Courses are offered upon request. A minimum of 6 participants is required for a course to be held.  Upon completing a short course, including a competency exam, attendees will receive continuing education units from North Carolina Central University, Division of Continuing Education. Tuition costs include refreshments and a box lunch. Discounts are available to companies who register 5 or more employees. To register for a professional development short course or discuss how BRITE can customize training to meet your specific requirements, contact Susan Peacock, PhD, speacock@nccu.edu, 919.530.6570.

Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting
This 3-day course is designed to give attendees an introductory overview of flow cytometry instrumentation and applications. This course will provide the fundamentals for generation of valid cytometric data and provide hands-on training in managing flow cytometric instrumentation for cell analysis and cell sorting. Attendees will learn principles of good cytometric experimental design; how to standardize data collection and monitor instrument stability; and how to analyze and interpret flow cytometric data. This course is intended to benefit research associates in need of primary training in flow cytometry.
$420
1.6 CEUs
Instructor:  Sam Witherspoon, MS

Confocal Microscopy
This 3-day course is designed to give attendees familiarity with the primary capabilities and applications of a standard laser-scanning confocal microscope.  Attendees will have the opportunity for hands-on training in the practical aspects of microscope operation and sample preparation for both cell surface and intracellular targets. Attendees will also gain an appreciation and awareness for the issues surrounding valid image data collection and standardization. This course is intended for research associates in need of primary training in confocal microscopy.
$390
2.0 CEUs
Instructor:  Sam Witherspoon, MS

Protein Chemistry and Bioseparation Processes
This 2-day course will introduce attendees to scientific theory, techniques and strategies for isolating biomolecules from complex mixtures. Attendees will learn how to make critical decisions regarding the selection of equipment and analytical methods for bioseparation. The course will include hands-on training on how to quantify products and interpret data from bioseparation processes, including precipitation, filtration and extraction, sedimentation, FPLC and HPLC chromatography, and crystallization. This course is intended to benefit those who work with purification of biological macromolecules in the realm of biomanufacturing.
$200
1.6 CEUs
Instructor:  Thomas Ding, PhD

Interpretation of NMR-spectra
This 2-day course is designed to give attendees familiarity with the basic principles of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Attendees will learn how to use NMR-spectra, in combination with information from mass spectrometry, UV- and IR-spectroscopy, as a tool for determining the structure of small molecules.  Attendees will have the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on training on a VNMRS 500 MHz spectrometer. Attendees will learn how to extract structural information from 1H and 13C NMR chemical shifts; how to find proximity of protons using 1H NMR coupling; how to deduce structures from information on fragments; and how to identify reaction products from NMR-spectra. This course will benefit anyone who does synthetic organic chemistry and needs the ability to quickly and reliably identify the structures of the reaction products
$300
1.6 CEUs
Instructors:  Thomas Ding, PhD and Srinivasa Reddy Dandepally, PhD

Characterizing Protein-Ligand Interactions
This 2-day course will introduce attendees to state-of-the-art methods for precise determinations of binding enthalpies and entropies, as well as binding and rate constants. The course will include hands-on training in titration and scanning calorimetry (ITC and DSC), surface plasmon resonance, and spectroscopic techniques for binding studies. This course is intended to benefit those working in the area of drug discovery, particularly lead optimization, secondary screening, or pharmacokinetics, where understanding protein-ligand interactions is critical in deciding which compounds should move forward in the drug development pipeline.
$250
1.6 CEUs
Instructor: Thomas Ding, PhD

Automated Liquid Handling (ALH)
This 2-day course is designed to teach fundamental concepts that are common in all robotic liquid handling procedures. Students will have the opportunity for hands-on training in critical aspects of ALH, including learning to identify the effects of pipetting parameters, such as aspiration and dispense speeds, air gaps, and motion control on pipetting performance. Students will learn the differences in various liquid classes (aqueous, serum, and solvents), how to program ALH robots, how to cherry pick samples, and how to interface ALH with other instruments. This course will benefit individuals who are planning on automating procedures and purchasing ALH instrumentation.
$285
1.475 CEUs
Instructor:  Mark Hughes

Basic Tissue Culture Techniques
This 2-day course is designed to introduce students to mammalian cell culture techniques. Attendees will learn the advantages and disadvantages of cell culture and how to compare and interpret results from in vitro and in vivo systems. This course will include hands-on training in aseptic techniques, including subculturing adherent and suspension cell lines, cryopreserving and resuscitating cell cultures, and cell counting using a hemacytometer.
$325
1.4 CEUs
Instructors:  Audrey Adcock and Sam Witherspoon, MS

Introduction to Laboratory Automation
This 2-day course is designed to give students an introduction to the theory and operation of common automated equipment used in drug discovery/biotechnology research settings. This course will include hands on training in automated liquid handling, ELISA plate reading, pipetting, nano-dispensing, electrochemistry and fermentation. Students will learn to expand automation concepts to process control and miniaturization examples. This course will benefit end users of lab automation with little or no experience with automated equipment, as well as laboratory managers involved in analyzing and justifying lab automation.
$500
1.5 CEUs
Instructor: Mark Hughes

Building an Integrated Semi-Automatic ELISA System
This 2-day course is intended to provide an in-depth approach to developing and automating an ELISA assay. The focus will be on identifying the steps that require automation and then assembling a system to perform the assay. Students will learn to design ELISA systems for specific applications and learn how to utilize commercial antibody banks for reagents. The course includes hands on training in building an integrated semi-automatic ELISA system, beginning with stepper motor control and ending with evaluating the performance with control charts and run rules.
$750
1.5 CEUs
Instructor:  Mark Hughes

Introduction to Small Scale Fermentation
This 2-day course will provide an introduction to the principles of small scale fermentation. Students will receive hands on training in critical aspects of small scale (2L) laboratory fermentation, including preparation and sterilization of the fermentor, calilbration of probes, and preparation of inocuum.  Production of a recombinant product will be used as a model system. Students will explore the effects of media composition on parameters such as oxygen transfer, cell density and mixing. This course is intended to benefit laboratory technicians working in academic or industrial settings who want to understand and operate small scale fermentation equipment.
$750
1.5 CEUs
Instructor:  Mark Hughes

Operation, Certification and Use of Type II Biological Safety Cabinets
This 1-day course is designed to provide an introduction to Biological Safety Cabinets (BSC). The lecture topics will cover the differences between Type I, II, and III BSC’s and how they function, including details of construction, HEPA filters and air flow characteristics.  Students will engage in laboratory exercises that generate aerosols and then visualize the containment of these aerosols in a BSC. Students will also learn the tools used in certification of BSC performance, including hands on training in calibrating face velocity, down flow uniformity and exhaust air parameters.
$250
0.7 CEUs
Instructor:  Mark Hughes

Key Elements of DOE (Design of Experiments)
This 1.5 day course is designed to introduce students to the terminology, use and underlying statistical principles of experimental design with emphasis on pharma/biotech tasks. An introduction to the use of the statistical method of Design of Experiments (DOE) for the optimization of experimental parameters in the context of biochemical research, development and manufacturing will be presented. A practical introduction of the theory and applications of DOE will be presented with the optimization of an immunoassay followed by data analysis using the JMP8 software from SAS. Experimental tasks will focus on the optimization of ELISA using multi-factorial DOE.
$
1.4 CEUs
Instructor:  Jonathan Sexton, PhD

Overview of the Pharmaceutical Industry
This 1-day lecture only course is designed to give students an introductory overview of the processes used in the discovery of new drugs and biologics. Topics covered include drug target validation, lead optimization, the Investigational New Drug application, clinical trials, the New Drug Application and drug manufacturing. This course is intended to benefit industry outsiders seeking a working knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry in order to transition to management opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry, e.g., legal, financial, HR or IT.
$100
0.68 CEUs
Instructor:  Li-An Yeh, PhD

Introduction to Patenting and Commercialization of Intellectual Property
This 1-day lecture only course is designed to give students an introductory overview of the significance and role of intellectual property to the biopharmaceutical industry. Students will learn the requirements for obtaining a patent in the U.S., the basics of licenses and assignments, and strategies to maximize the commercial value of intellectual property and patents. This course is intended to benefit research associates seeking to transition into business development or technology transfer career paths.
$100
0.5 CEUs
Instructor:  Susan Peacock, PhD, JD, RAC

Introduction to FDA Regulations and the U.S. Drug Approval Pathway
This 1-day lecture only course is designed to give attendees an introductory overview of the regulatory requirements for approval of new drugs and biologics in the U.S. Attendees will learn the legal background for the regulation of pharmaceutical products and the role of the FDA; the requirements for clinical development and FDA approval of drugs and biologics; and the regulatory exceptions for special product classes and special patient populations. This course is intended to benefit research associates seeking to transition into regulatory affairs.
$100
0.5 CEUs
Instructor:  Susan Peacock, PhD, JD, RAC