Happy new year from BCLA! We are excited to bring you more virtual content until we can meet in-person again. Read on for more information on our new leadership, January’s startup panel discussion with IndieBio, February’s Bioscience Talent Connect career month which will culminate in a career fair, and the release of our podcast, “Inside Biotech.”

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New President: Kathy Grotsch

After 5 years at BCLA and a highly successful term as President, Adhi Sikhand has stepped down from his role and will be passing on the torch to the new leadership! We would like to thank Adhi for leading the team in 2020 and for smoothly navigating all the challenges in this unprecedented year. BCLA and the biotech community wouldn’t be where they are without you!

We are proud to announce that Kathy Grotsch will serve as BCLA’s new President! Kathy is a PhD candidate at the Bridge Institute at USC. She works on the synthesis of complex natural products and synthetic methods in drug discovery. Prior to starting her PhD, she obtained her BSc in Chemistry from TU Munich. Kathy has been with BCLA since 2018, has previously led the Media & Marketing team and served as Co-Vice President.

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A Roadmap to Your First Successful Startup:  Tips from Founders on Creating Your Own Business

Start off 2021 with BCLA’s first event of the year, “A Roadmap to Your First Successful Startup: Tips from Founders on Creating Your Own Business.” This one-hour panel discussion will feature partners from leading science accelerator IndieBio, along with some of its current and alumni startup founders, including Mickey Pentecost and Austin Quach, who were selected by the accelerator from our previous event with IndieBio in 2019. The panel discussion will be followed by two office hours with IndieBio, so come prepared to present your pitches! Given the success of this collaboration, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn more about the startup process and become a founder!

When: Tuesday, January 19 from 11 AM to 2 PM (PST)

Where: Zoom

RSVP HERE

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BCLA’s New Podcast – Inside Biotech

Our new podcast, Inside Biotech, has officially premiered!

In the first episode, we are excited to welcome Kayleen Sabino from Cannalysis Labs, who provided insights into the science behind the cannabis industry. Cannabis use has skyrocketed in LA – from March 2018 to March 2019, by  a whopping 62%. Interested in learning more about how this Los Angeles staple goes from the plant to your pocket safely? Join Dr. Yewande Pearse, PhD, Social Media Associate at BCLA, as she speaks with Kayleen (Leong) Sabino, Vice President of Operations at Cannalysis – an LA-based company that focuses on efficiently testing new cannabis products so that they meet state guidelines. Sabino virtually sat down to discuss how Cannalysis does it and what the future of the cannabis industry in LA might look like moving forward.

Listen here.

Inside Biotech will air new episodes monthly, covering a variety of exciting topics. Stay tuned and follow us on Spotify!

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6th Annual Bioscience Talent Connection: BCLA’s Career Month

Due to the current circumstances, our annual Bioscience Talent Connection will take place over the course of a few weeks. Instead of a full day event we have dubbed this February career month, with three weekly career development workshops and a virtual career fair on February 26, 2021. To prepare for the career fair, make sure to attend the weekly career development workshops leading up to the final event. Learn more about the first two workshops below.

CV Workshop

The first workshop of the BTC career month will be a CV Workshop with Helen Vong, Vice President of Business Development at Scismic.

When: Thursday, February 4 from 5 PM to 6 PM (PST)

Where: Zoom

Effective Interviewing Workshop

The second workshop of our career month will be an Effective Interviewing Workshop with Roshni Rao, Director of PHutures at Johns Hopkins University.

When: Wednesday, February 10 from 5 PM to 6 PM (PST)

Where: Zoom

Stay tuned for more information on our third workshop of the BTC career month.

Career Fair 

Our much anticipated BTC career fair will be held virtually and you’ll have the opportunity to put all the new skills you’ve learned at the career workshops into action. More details on this event will be made available shortly!

When: Friday, February 26, from 12 PM to 4P M (PST)

Where: Remo

RSVP  for all workshops and the career fair HERE