When Bethany Simpson enrolled in Palm Beach State College’s biotechnology college credit certificate program, she already had a bachelor of science degree in biology from Florida Atlantic University. Knowing that if she was to continue her education and earn a master’s degree, “I needed to get the lab skills that were missing from my B.S. degree program.”
At PBSC, students may enroll in the A.S. degree in biotechnology or tailor their Associate in Arts degree to include biotechnology courses. Two college credit certificate programs—Biotechnology and Biotechnology Laboratory Specialist—give options for those who want a faster route to employment or already have a degree but need industry skills. Classes are taught by Ph.D.-credentialed faculty such as Alexandra Gorgevska, a former post-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and chair of the biotechnology department.
PBSC offered Simpson the lab training she needed and much more. Under the leadership of Gorgevska, PBSC, students get experience beyond the lab. Gorgevska regularly brings students to tour local biotech companies and research institutes such as the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology and other educational and non-profit organizations within the life sciences community.
Internships are mandatory for students in PBSC’s biotechnology program and Simpson secured a paid year-long internship at FAU’s Pine Jog Environmental Education Center. Her paid internship combined fieldwork and a laboratory setting to source and grow genetically diverse native orchids with the goal of re-establishment. “That internship led to FAU funding my master’s degree which I received in December 2024 and a full-time job as the Coordinator for the Native Orchid Lab at the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center,” Simpson said.
Gabriel Gaglio, who graduated PBSC with an associate in science in biotechnology, agrees that experience and the contacts he made while at the College were an important part of his career journey. While on a tour of UF Scripps led by Gorgevska, Gaglio had the opportunity to meet Brock Grill who ran his own neuroscience lab. That introduction led to a paid internship with Grill’s lab while Gaglio was a student and a full-time job after graduation. Gaglio eventually decided to return to FAU to pursue a B.S. degree in neuroscience.
Today, he is a process development scientist with ADMA Biologics, Inc. a company researching new technologies and drugs for the intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) market which aims to normalize compromised immune systems. “At PBSC, I gained more lab skills than offered by many higher education programs,” Gaglio said. One of the most common skills in a lab, Gaglio said, is how to properly and precisely use a pipette— the slender tube used to measure or transfer small amounts of a liquid–which is key to reproducible, reliable results. “I never once learned pipetting while getting my bachelor’s but thanks to PBSC I already had this skill,” he said. This skill, said Gaglio, “is vitally important” to my job today.
Fabiana Torres is another PBSC alumnae who benefitted from an internship at Scripps while working toward her A.S. in biotechnology. Her internship experience at Scripps under Dr. Jun-Li Luo, in the Department of Cancer Biology, led her to complete a B.S. in biology at FAU and eventually go on to receive her Doctor of Pharmacy degree of PharmD from Southeastern University’s College of Pharmacy. Torres now works as a clinical pharmacist at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach. “The education I received from PBSC really prepared me for my graduate school classes and the lab,” Torres said.
Simpson, Gaglio and Torres shared their educational and career journeys with attendees at a BioFlorida event held at PBSC’s Palm Beach Gardens campus in February. BioFlorida represents Florida’s burgeoning life sciences industry whose membership includes pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as research institutes and academia. “It’s important for BioFlorida to showcase students’ journeys in the life sciences field and how they found employment opportunities within Florida,” said Lorrie Albinson, BioFlorida’s vice-president of strategy and marketing. “We work closely with colleges and universities to connect them with the life sciences community to help them find internships and better understand the job market and needs of employers.”
With more than 700 biotechnology and healthcare companies located in Palm Beach County alone, there is plenty of opportunity. According to the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, the life sciences sector accounts for nearly 100,000 jobs, commanding an average salary of more than $100,000.00 The sector has positioned itself as a significant economic driver, generating a total income of $7.53 billion. “The life sciences community in Palm Beach County provides tremendous opportunity for our students,” Gorgevska said. “PBSC really works in partnership with BioFlorida and local companies to ensure our students graduate with the skills employers need.”
SOURCE: PBSC’s biotechnology alumni share their career success at BioFlorida event | Palm Beach State News