Biotechnology educators from across High Tech High recently gathered for two days of immersive training at a brand-new student-built lab at HTH Mesa—launching the next chapter in our charter school network’s Health Science and Medical Technology pathways.

Led by Mikayla Ortega-Donahoo, Ricardo Juarez, and Silvana Del Piccolo of Biocom California, the training by Generation STEAM featured Illumina’s Genomic Discoveries (IGD) DNA sequencing curriculum. Thanks to Vanessa Light and Nicole Tabarez from Illumina, our educators also met directly with biotech professionals to explore what skills and knowledge are most needed in today’s life sciences industry.

“It was so beautiful to have our High Tech High educators in College and Career Technical Education train together in our new student-designed state-of-the-art biotechnology lab. Collaborating with Illumina and Biocom California professionals was especially impactful,” said Meghan Paddy, K-12 CCTE Coordinator for HTH schools.

She added, “Our HTH educators were so excited to learn new current skills and content that they will implement into our four new Health Science and Medical Technology 2 course pathway options offered at our high schools this fall. Each CCTE course is centered around authentic work-based experiences in and outside of the classroom with our industry partners.”

HTH teachers are ready to bring free biotechnology curricula, supplies, and industry connections directly to HTH students across the network.

Educators also had the opportunity to set up a donated Illumina iSeq DNA sequencer at HTH Mesa, which students will use for real DNA sequencing in future projects—contributing to both new and ongoing genomics research.

“What a joy it was to work with these amazing teachers as they dedicated two days of their precious time to learn about bringing next-generation sequencing technology to their classrooms through the Illumina Genomic Discoveries program,” said Ortega-Donahoo on her social media.

Generation STEAM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization affiliated with Biocom California, a leading accelerator of the life sciences in California. Its mission is to empower the next generation of STEAM visionaries through education and exploration.