Announcement
Students from Engineering School: pick up a Red card
Students from Science School: pick up a
card
Students from Business School/Dual Degree Program:
pick up a Blue card
CENG 109
Biotechnology and Its Business Opportunities
Class 1
Outline of this class
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Course matters
Course perspectives
Grouping exercise
Review jargons in biological information
PRS demonstration
Course preview
CENG 109 Teaching Staffs
• Instructor: Prof. Ying Chau
(keychau@ust.hk)
Office hours: Tuesday 9-10a (by appointment)
Rm 4551
• Teaching assistants:
– Yuki (zhongy@ust.hk)
– Cassie (joleeli@ust.hk)
– Stephen (stepheny@ust.hk)
Course Perspectives
Case
Overview
What is this course about?
• Gives an introductory overview of
biotechnology in the medical-related areas
• Discusses past history, current status and
future outlook
• Explains basic technologies
• Addresses windows of business opportunities
• Uses case-study format to highlight
developments representative of the industry
• Invites speakers to give first-hand stories
The Recurring Theme
Unmet
Health Care
Needs
of the
Society
Innovations
from
Modern
Biotechnology
Commercial
Opportunities
An Engineering Approach
• Engineer is derived from the Latin word
“ingenium”, meaning “invention”
.
• Engineering is the art of directing the great
sources of power in nature for the use and
the convenience of people
-Science and Technology Encyclopedia, McGraw Hill Education
GREAT Class Atmosphere
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Grasp
Respect
Exchange
Ask
Teamwork
At the completion of this course, you
will be able to….
• describe the major areas covered by medical biotechnology
• explain the basic technical concepts, scientific and
engineering principles
• describe the opportunities and challenges faced by the
industry
• analyze the potential and impact of modern biotechnology
on human health and economy
• identify the key components contributing to biotechnology
of commercial interest
• research topics in biotechnology and its current
development
Course materials
• Course pack (Highly recommended!)
– Pick up from TA at the end of this class, pay in next class
– Purchase copy from Yuki (room 6113. Email first)
• Course web site
http://teaching.ust.hk/~ceng109/index.htm
• Reserved for 2-hr loan in library
– “Introduction to Biotechnology” by Thieman
– “Biotechnology: Demystifying the Concepts” by Bourgaize, Jewell
and Buiser
– CENG 109 course packs
• Library course guide (Upcoming)
Assessment scheme
• Class participation 20%
– Classroom involvement via PRS and group discussion
– Pop-quizzes (based on readings and lecture materials)
– Report malfunction of PRS in the same class
• Homework assignments 20%
– Graded based on relevance, completeness, organization and
presentation
– ++, +, or 
– No late submission
• Mid-term 25%
– Multiple-choice and short-question format
• Class project 35%
There is absolutely ZERO tolerance for academic dishonesty
Grouping Exercise
5 students per group
At least two card colors
Introduce yourself!
Class project
• Team formation:
5 students, two schools, one team leader
• Timeline:
– A step-by-step guide to help you finish the
project
– Submit biweekly assignment (one per team)
– First assignment due 18/09: team composition
and team name
• Final report and a final presentation
How do you define biotechnology?
“Integrated use of biochemistry,
microbiology and engineering sciences in
order to achieve technological (industrial)
application of the capabilities of
microorganisms, cultured tissue cells and
parts thereof”
-Definition of biotechnology by
European Federation of Biotechnology
Storage and flow of biological information share
common traits in living things
www.hearingvoices.com
http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/bacecoli.jpg
forums.mooseyscountrygarden.com
www.wallpaperbase.com
All cells use DNA
for information
storage
www.vcbio.science.ru.nl
Structure of a basic unit
of DNA
(DeoxyriboNucleic Acid)
http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de
The Language of a Gene
DNA as the replication template
library.advanced.org
Animalgenome.org
DNA is a powerful “hard disk” of
biological information
1)
2)
3)
4)
Structure allows any sequence of bases
From human genome project: human contains 3146.7
million bases and ~30,000 genes
The duplex enables an accurate “backup”; the
complementary strand provides a template for
replication
The DNA helix is stable, even in the harsh environment
of the inside of the cell
The information stored inside DNA is “readable”
Central dogma governs the flow of
biological information
“Biotechnology:Demystifying the
Concepts” Bourgaize, Jewell, Buiser
The Universal Codes
Demonstration of
Personal Response System
Which picture gives an illustration of
biotechnology? 3
1
2
Photo: HK Dairy Farm
www.karlstrauss.com
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6
4
Photo: FDA
Structure of this course
• Focus on modern medical biotechnology development.
• Part I: Roots of Modern Biotechnology
– Classic biotechnology recombinant products and biotechnology
giants in US
• Part II: Supporting technologies
– Protein and drug delivery
– Microarrays (e.g. DNA chips)
• Part III: Future paradigms
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New technologies
Biotechnology start-ups
University roles
Development in Hong Kong and China