When Kylie Kemp entered the medical device field as a young engineer, she remembers wishing she had more guidance. “There weren’t many opportunities to connect with professionals in the industry and understand what the work actually looked like day-to-day,” she said. Today, Kylie is a Senior Development Engineer at Highridge Medical, where she designs spinal implants and surgical instrumentation—and she is also a dedicated mentor with the Colorado BioScience Institute.
When Gabe started high school in 2019, he had no idea he was taking the first step toward a career in life sciences. “I’ll be honest — my parents kind of threw me into the P-TECH program,” he laughs. “I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.” But one field trip changed everything.
The University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz, in partnership with Colorado BioScience Institute, have received nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to expand the Quality Assurance (QA) and Regulatory Affairs (RA) Certificate Program.
When Maria Sears set out to build a medical device, she wasn’t working in a lab at MIT or shadowing researchers in a major city hospital. She was a high school student in Monte Vista, Colorado, a rural town better known for agriculture than engineering, using borrowed tools, sheer determination, and a powerful personal connection to guide her work.
Colorado BioScience Institute and Colorado BioScience Association announce a new initiative, the Life Sciences Employer Talent Collaborative, launched to strengthen Colorado’s talent pipeline and ensure a steady supply of skilled workers for the state’s growing life sciences ecosystem.
Supported by a grant from the ZOMA Foundation, with facilitation support from SyncUp Colorado, and developed in partnership with Colorado Succeeds, the initiative builds a shared strategy among leading life sciences employers to map talent needs, co-design solutions, and align training and education programs to high-demand roles.
Upskill in Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs – Without Disrupting Productivity In today’s highly regulated life sciences sector, staying compliant and competitive requires a workforce that’s continually evolving. The QA/RA Certificate Program is a flexible, online learning opportunity designed to help you build in-demand skills in quality assurance and regulatory affairs—supporting your career growth in the life sciences sector.
We had an excellent event last week featuring our own Janie Butler and Jordan Haas from Green Key Resources, titled “Crafting Your Path: Mastering the Art of Resume Writing for Undergraduates.”
To meet employer needs, the QA/RA certificate will include access to career-enhancing experiential learning opportunities and mentorship. A partnership including the Colorado Bioscience Institute, and 16+ industry leaders will facilitate an innovative approach to providing participants with opportunities to increase economic mobility in high-demand, high-skill, high-wage occupations. The four courses that make up the certificate will be delivered online and asynchronously with a 3-day, in-person experience hosted by local Denver Metro area companies in the final capstone class. The curriculum is customized with input from our Advisory Board members to meet the QA/RA needs of the local bioscience community. The program provides specialized job training as well as mentorship and job matching activities offered by the Institute.
April 9th we hosted the annual Life Sciences Industry Showcase! This event consists of a panel that connects Colorado life sciences companies to Colorado university talent from undergraduate to post doc to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the Colorado Life Sciences Ecosystem. Participating companies showcased their company, technology and talent recruitment initiatives with an overview presentation and engaged with attendees through a moderated Q&A session. Our panel consisted of speakers from Medtronic, Biodesix, KBI Biopharma and Edgewise Therapeutics. This session grows the state’s future workforce talent pipeline by connecting them with companies and opportunities in Colorado. See the event recording below:
Lacee Sherman’s Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Journey For Lacee Sherman, science has always been more than just a subject to teach—it’s a way of thinking, learning, and discovering the world. As a teacher at Infinity Middle School in Aurora, Colorado, Lacee has spent years blending her passion for science with hands-on research experiences, ensuring that her students not only learn about science, but experience it. Through the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program, offered by the Colorado BioScience Institute, Lacee has brought invaluable lessons from the lab at STAQ Pharma straight into her classroom, helping her students see the relevance of science in their everyday lives.