To best prepare students for modern research positions in biochemistry, it is necessary to understand the skills students need to succeed professionally. Seeking input from professional biochemists, both in academia and industry, can provide valuable insights for faculty when they design course content.  Nine research-active biochemistry professionals were interviewed to find out what skills they think should be emphasized in a biochemistry laboratory course. Interview results were incorporated into a survey to rank the importance of different skills. This survey was given to a larger group of 47 biochemistry faculty and professionals. The prioritization of skills by academic faculty was compared to prioritization by professionals. Bolt groups found problem solving skills, ability to look up information and learning new methods to be important.  These types of skills are unlikely to be emphasized in a cook-book style laboratory experience.  The finding emphasizes the need for laboratory instructors to consider incorporating these types of research skills into their courses, perhaps in the form of inquiry style and project focused labs, and the importance of undergraduate research experiences. Other top rated skills were “soft skills” including “ability to find the right people to ask the right questions” and “an ability to say “I don't know how to do that” to prevent floundering.  It is clear these types of skills are highly valued by biochemical research supervisors and this begs for a conversation on whether and/or how to incorporate these less tangible items in laboratory classes. While, in general, perception of importance of the themes were similar, industry professions rated the themes of Teamwork and Self-Efficacy significantly higher than faculty (p = 0.048 and 0.049, respectively). This finding may encourage faculty to explore and discuss best practices of incorporating Teamwork and Self-Efficacy skills in their biochemistry laboratory courses. Understanding these differences in views in the academic and industrial environment can help faculty reconsider the skills they most emphasize in their upper level biochemistry laboratory courses. Moreover, the involvement of an advisory panel in a course, perhaps in the form of a networking/poster session, can provide valuable learning and networking experiences for students and help guide the focus of the course.

Participation of a professional advisory panel in a biochemistry laboratory course

251st National Meeting (2016)

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