Jeffry scott / arizona daily star

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To become a thriving biotech hub, Tucson first needs a biotech work force — and a Pima Community College program aims to build those local workers.

Now three years old, Pima Community College's Biotechnology Program trains technicians to staff research labs.

Expanding Tucson's biotech industry is a balancing act, said Michael Cusanovich, director of the Arizona Research Laboratories and former UA vice president of research.

"We can't keep the people after we train them because there aren't enough jobs. We can't get the jobs because there aren't enough people," said Cusanovich, a supporter of the Pima program.

Currently, Tucson has enough Ph.D.s and people with master's degrees, he said, but the city lacks an adequate biotech production and manufacturing work force.

There's a need for people who are trained to "go into a lab situation and do reasonably technical things," Cusanovich said.

That's where Pima Community College's Biotechnology Program comes in.

The program is designed to provide students with the practical skills needed to work in the biotech industry, said Lisa Werner, PCC's lead faculty for biotechnology.

JobPath, a local job training and placement service, partnered with PCC nearly four years ago to begin the development of a biotech program, said Executive Director Hermi Cubillos.

In June 2005, JobPath was awarded a $279,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration, Cubillos said. The grant money pays for biotech student internships, as well as tuition and book assistance.

Additional funding came from the UA's Postdoctoral Excellence in Research and Teaching program, Werner said.

Since the certificate became available in December 2004, about a dozen students have received the biotech certificate. Altogether, about 40 students have completed at least some of the requirements.

Nearly three-fourths of those students are now working in the biotech industry, while others are still pursuing bachelor's degrees or have been accepted to pharmacy school, Werner said.

The certificate is not intended to stand alone, Werner said. For now, students are encouraged to "shoot for a four-year degree."

Program requirements include eight courses — or 29 units — in chemistry, biology and biotechnology. Four of those units come from the completion of a lab research internship.

Internships are provided by the University of Arizona's Bio5 Institute. Students go through an application and interview process before being placed in an eight-week, full-time position at a UA research lab.

Occasionally, students are hired by the lab after their internship is completed, Werner said.

That was the case for Cia Richard, a research technician for Bio5's Infectious Disease Research Core Laboratory.

Two months after completing her summer internship, Richard was hired and now works doing clinical trials and molecular diagnostic testing for the lab.

The 2003 NAU graduate came to the biotech program after spending nearly three years as a substitute science teacher. She is currently one class shy of receiving the certificate.

"I knew that if I wanted to make a livable wage I'd have to do more training," she said.

The biotech program provided the "up-to-date" knowledge and practical experience needed to work in the industry, Richard said.

Bio5's partnership with PCC is "natural" in light of the institute's "strong educational mission," said Kevin Hall, director of research training and career development.

The "hands-on research experience students receive makes them more marketable, and helps Tucson continue to build its life science economy," Hall said.