Mammalian Stem Cell Culture Bootcamp 2025
We proudly hosted SDSU’s first ever "cell culture" bootcamp, in Summer 2025. Our pilot run was a 3-day immersive, hands-on experience designed to support students pursuing careers in research, industry, and higher education. We are building this bootcamp to provide them the opportunity to build skills that are not currently covered in the SDSU lab course curriculum. However, cell and tissue culture is used in almost every biotech company (especially here in San Diego!), and is the basis of stem cell and immunotherapies that have transformed the clinical and medical landscape.
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Therefore, our bootcamp participants learned the foundational aseptic (super sterile) techniques and the types of equipment required to safely work with mammalian cells. Students prepped mock "media" (dyed water) and "cells" (beads) to learn media and cell preparation, as well as elements of expanding out ("passaging") cell cultures. They viewed demos in microscopy and other tools to study cells. We also provided professional development workshops and targeted career support to each individual student. Over 80% of our 25 participants reported improved understanding of cell culture and an increase in confidence for discussing techniques in job interviews; 60% pursued academic lab opportunities for Summer/Fall 2025 (12% of which have joined our lab directly), 20% have pursued externships, and 8% are pursuing graduate programs or medical school.
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This bootcamp marks an exciting step towards building a more inclusive, skilled, and career-ready scientific community at SDSU and beyond. We seek to partner with local Biotech and non-profits to establish an annual week-long Bootcamp over the summers to maximize the number of students reached. Our other long-term goal is to create a new lab course for cell/tissue culture/bio-manufacturing for SDSU students and partners like San Diego Community College, especially as the SDSU Mission Valley District continues to develop.
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Interested in contributing to/sponsoring our 2026 and beyond Bootcamps?
