Biomarkers in Drug Development, Molecular Diagnostics and Personalized Medicine

1. Biomarkers in Drug Development, Molecular Diagnostics and Personalized Medicine City NSF Grant# DUE0653291 SWC NSF Grant# DUE0653234 Ana G. Hernandez Southwestern College Biology ahernandez06@yahoo.com Jennifer Ahumada San Diego City College Biochemistry jahumada3@gmail.com David A. Garcia San Diego City College Biochemistry dgarcia@comfortinnzoo.com Introduction Bio4Front develops and delivers information and innovative educational programs for those engaged or interested in the Life Sciences Industry. • Results • An educative PowerPoint presentation and work book were created and provided to Bio4Front in order to aide them in their educational program and allow them to share general information of the following: • Overview of Personalized Medicine • Basic biology - cell structure and DNA to protein • Genomics • Proteomics • Rational drug design • Epigenetics • Molecular diagnostics • Stem cells and regenerative medicine • Roadblocks and progress towards personalized medicine • Method • Bio4Front allowed us to intern in an “at-home” basis where we met once or twice a week in which we: • Collaborated as a group to gather data. • Conducted secondary research: web search ( case studies and drug analysis) and library research. • Formatted and presented data using Microsoft PowerPoint Software and customized work book. Acknowledgements First and foremost we would like to thank STEP Partnership of San Diego (SPSD) who encouraged and facilitated our experience at Bio4Front. A special thanks to our mentors, Cathleen Davies and Philip L. Sheridan, at Bio4Front for allowing us to become part of the Bio4Front team. Dr. Raga Bakhiet, MESA program director at Southwestern College; Rafael Alvarez, MESA program director at San Diego City College; and Angeline Yang, program coordination of the STEP Program, thank you for guiding us in this personal and academic growth opportunity. The National Science Foundation (NSF),thank you for funding our MESA activities and enriching our education. Last but not least, we would thank our family and friends for their support. • Conclusion • As interns at Bio4Front, we successfully expanded our network to include fellow interns, prestigious mentors, and individuals interested in our research. Conducting research on drug development, molecular diagnostics, and personalized medicine allowed us to gain valuable knowledge and to fine tune our research skills.