| Participant Name: | Kristen Stremlau |
| Participant Affiliation: | Sigma-Aldrich Corporate |
| Course Attended: | Session 2, 2003 (June 22 -- July 5, 2003) |
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I was in the sales department and was interested in moving into the marketing department for the Molecular Biology Initiative. I had applied for an open marketing position at my company in the spring of 2003; however, I was not offered the job because my molecular biology technical skills were weak. The hiring manager suggested that I take the "boot camp" course offered by New England Biolabs. So, during the summer I took two weeks off work and immersed myself in the NE Biolabs Annual Summer Workshop. It was very intensive, but absolutely worth the time and money investment. By autumn 2003, I had increased my molecular biology product sales by six times the amount as 2002 as a result of my hands-on experience and better understanding of DNA, cloning, PCR, etc. Suddenly, I was able to discuss theory and techniques with customers and really understand what their needs were. In November 2003, I was promoted (two grade levels) to Technical Marketing Manger, primarily with drug discovery projects in the Molecular Biology Initiative. Although I was not the typical candidate for this summer workshop, I found it very beneficial. It impacted my job approach, increased my commissionable sales, and gave me the leverage to get a promotion that was otherwise not possible. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who is interested in increasing his knowledge of molecular biology theory and techniques. It worked out very well for me. |
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| Participant Name: | James S. Nowick |
| Participant Affiliation: | Professor of Chemistry Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA |
| Course Attended: | 1995 |
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Thank you so much for helping to provide me with the confidence and skills to incorporate the tools of molecular biology into my research program in organic chemistry and chemical biology. Having never had a formal lecture or lab course in biology in college or graduate school, I felt fortunate to have the opportunity to get such a wonderful introduction in the New England Biolabs "boot camp". The excellent preparation by the staff allowed us to do three experiments in less than two weeks time, thus maximizing our learning. |
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