GA History
A history of the Life Science Tennessee - Graduate Alliance
Initially created as the Tennessee Biotechnology Association - Academic Chapter, the organization was injected with energy in 2005 by Adeola Davis MPA, PhD, and Anuraag Sarangi, PhD, who served as the first Co-Directors of the Chapter under the guidance of Joe Rolwing, President and Executive Director of the Tennessee Biotechnology Association. Under their combined leadership, the chapter grew from 3 members to well over 30 members over the course of the first year. Other key members were recruited, including Kimberly Korwek, PhD, who served as the Newsletter Editor and Sam Kale, PhD, MBA as the Webmaster. In addition to spreading awareness about the Academic Chapter and substantially increasing membership numbers, the team held successful informative seminars in collaboration with the Biomedical Research and Education Training (BRET) program at Vanderbilt University. Additionally, the team organized a noteworthy Biotechnology Business Plan Competition. The winners of the Biotechnology Business Plan Competition were sent to SEBIO conference in Florida. Further, the Academic chapter sponsored well-attended networking events between students and regional biotech industry professionals. The board members served the Academic Chapter from late 2005 until 2008.
In 2008, the organization expanded with a new website, additional networking events and more content for the newsletter. The board members for 2008 were: Ashley Brady, PhD, Co-Director; Caroline Hansen, PhD, Co-Director; Nicole Speed, PhD, Co-Director; Soumyadeep Day, PhD, Webmaster; and Judsen Schneider, PhD, Newsletter Editor. The board members continued to organize activities that provided opportunities for Chapter members to learn more about the biotechnology industry and build relationships within the industry.
In 2009, major structural changes were made to the organization including a rebranding, (Tennessee Biotech Association - Graduate Alliance), board structure, and mission statement. Several new initiatives were created to provide relevant content for both the local biotechnology industry as well as students from multiple disciplines relevant to the industry - including, Beer with Biotech, the Integrative Biotechnology symposium (Biotech 101, biotech valuation), a resume writing workshop, and other networking events. The board members for this year were: Mark Harris, PhD MBA, President; Tom Bridges, PhD, Executive VP; Grant Palmer, PhD MBA, VP Information; Judsen Schneider, PhD, VP Media; and Avery Fisher, MBA VP Media.
2010 has been our best year yet with the organization attaining its largest size and membership base. Along with the TBA - Life Science Tennessee rebranding, we adopted the name Life Science Tennessee - Graduate Alliance and a new website. In the fall, we hosted the Case Study Workshop which posed questions regarding current topics relevant to the industry (follow on biologics and genetically modified organisms). We also sponsored a well-attended networking event following the LST annual meeting. Our spring event focused on entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences and we helped organized the TechVenture Challenge with Vanderbilt University. This highly successful, educational event brought together students, faculty and administration to work on a common project using existing, patented intellectual property. Beer with Biotech was also continued as a tradition. The board members for 2010 were: Judsen Schneider, PhD, President; Timothy Panosian, PhD, Executive VP; Tom Utley, PhD, VP of Events; Hannah Johnson, MBA, VP of Marketing; Andy Rigby, MBA, VP of Media; and Greg Digby, PhD, VP of Membership.
2011 is beginning to be a good year. We have incorporated new board members and are continuing our strong approach to developing connections between the life science industry and the higher education institutions within the state.
