Jacqueline M. Crisman, assistant professor of biology and coordinator of biotechnology, participated in the recent National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program conference in Atlanta.

The conference, sponsored by the Biotechnology Institute, is designed to educate teachers, students, and the public about the promise and challenges of biotechnology. Participants join a network of advisors, or "teacher-leaders," committed to teaching biotechnology to students and serving as resources for other teachers.

Dr. Crisman toured the Georgia Tech Nanotech Facility and other biotechnology sites near Atlanta. She participated in sessions on genomics and RNA interference as well as laboratory exercises that can be used to recruit students into biotechnology programs.

Dr. Crisman taught previously at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and Houghton College. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at the State University of New York at Geneseo and a master’s degree in molecular virology and doctorate in molecular immunology at Ohio State University.

JCC began offering an Associate in Science degree in biotechnology in 2008.