CI Receives National Science Foundation Grant
California State University Channel Islands
California State University Channel Islands

Camarillo, Calif., Dec. 16, 2009 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) is pleased to announce a $300,000 grant award from the National Science Foundation to Dr. Ching-Hua Wang, Director of MS in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Program and Special Assistant to the Provost at CSU Channel Islands, and colleagues from San Diego State and Chico State Universities. The grant will be used to develop ethics education content for three different PSM fields: Biotechnological Science, Computational Science, and Environmental Science and to integrate the content into the Professional Science Master (PSM) programs within the CSU system.

The two-year PSM programs are innovative and rigorous, combining graduate education in science and technology with industry-relevant education in business, management, communication, and law. The ethics education program will be used throughout the CSU campuses and the National Science Foundation would also like the program disseminated to other campuses in the nation. Currently, there are over 120 Professional Science Master programs in the United States.

Students are admitted into PSM programs after completing an undergraduate degree. They often have no experience in the real world and lack ethics training required in most scientific fields. Some of the better known hot buttons of scientific research have been cloning, stem cell research, privacy issues in genetic testing, human testing, clinical trials in foreign countries or in special populations, animal testing, and reproductive issues. Scientific research requires responsible conduct and is regulated by various governmental agencies of which students, emerging from undergraduate study, are often unaware. As PSM students receive preparation in science and technology, they must also become aware of ethical dilemmas and challenges they will face as they move forward in their careers.

To meet the need for ethics education, the PSM programs at CI have developed and offered a course, Biotechnology Law and Regulation, which is a required course for all graduate students entering into the PSM programs. Exposure to bioethical standards at the very beginning of the PSM programs allows each student to approach their particular field with knowledge of bioethics and responsible conduct of research. Not only is bioethics one of the foci in the introductory course but discussions of relevant ethical issues permeate throughout the two years of curriculum.

Dr. Wang said, “CI’s PSM programs, namely the MS in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics and the MS in Biotechnology and MBA dual degree programs have incorporated bioethics education as an essential required element for students from the inception of the programs. Because of this, CI will play a primary role in developing and disseminating the bioethics education materials to other Biotechnology PSM programs at other sister campuses.”

For further information on the NSF grant or PSM programs, contact Dr. Ching-Hua Wang at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8870 or ching-hua.wang@csuci.edu.

CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.