Mission
The mission of the Biotechnology Research Center (BRC) is to promote education and research in the areas of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics and biotechnology for the benefit of society and the environment.

What is biotechnolgy?
Biotechnology encompasses the applications of various science and engineering disciplines for industrial exploration of living organisms and/or their products.

The multidisciplinary nature is reflected on the diverse expertises of the BRC faculty, ranging from Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics to Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, and Forest Resources and Environmental Science.

Charter - click here for a printable pdf version.

Approved: May 2005

A. Mission
The mission of the Biotechnology Research Center (BRC) is to promote education and research in the areas of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics and biotechnology for the benefit of society and the environment.

B. Vision
The BRC will foster interdisciplinary research at MTU. BRC will be internationally recognized for its research excellence, dissemination of knowledge, and commitment to quality education in the life sciences.

C. Description of Proposed Activities
The BRC engages in three main activities:

1. Foster collaborative research in biotechnology
Biotechnology encompasses the applications of various science and engineering disciplines for responsible industrial utilization of living organisms or their products.

BRC brings together faculty from across three Colleges/School, and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration in order to attract support from federal and private sources. To facilitate collaboration, the Center holds quarterly meetings that include research presentations from individual members to disseminate their findings and exchange ideas. BRC also works with other research centers/institutes in sponsoring activities (e.g., grant proposal workshops) pertinent to grant applications.

2. Provide core research facility
Maintaining and upgrading the biotechnology research facility is vital to the continued success of the BRC and remains an important goal of the Center. The sharing of equipment and facilities by the Center’s researchers is economically and strategically prudent. This effort partially compensates for the absence at MTU of molecular and genomic core facilities that operate at many of our peer institutions. State-of-the-art equipment and facilities also help attract faculty, graduate students and research scientists to Michigan Tech.

3. Contribute to educational opportunities in biotechnology
The BRC promotes biotechnology education at several levels: graduate programs, undergraduate training opportunities, and outreach activities.

Graduate programs: BRC faculty members form the core of the Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology (FMGB) Ph.D. and M.S. graduate programs. In recent years, these programs have maintained an enrollment of ~10 graduate students, mostly supported by extramural funding. The FMGB programs are administered under FRES, but many non-FRES faculty (e.g., BRC members) have also been involved via coursework offerings or as advisory committee members. To enhance graduate education in biotechnology at Michigan Tech, the BRC will join in the development and promotion of interdisciplinary graduate degree programs.

The BRC also provides various opportunities to enhance graduate student training and learning. Examples include monthly seminars by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers; a biweekly plant biotech journal club; invited seminars by reputable researchers (co-sponsored with various academic units); travel awards; and the Annual Graduate Research Forum (co-sponsored with the Ecosystem Science Center).

Undergraduate training opportunities: BRC faculty regularly offer research assistantship opportunities to undergraduate students from across the university in molecular, genomics and bioinformatics research. They also serve as mentors for undergraduate students supported by, for example, the MTU Summer Undergraduate Research Program or the NSF Undergraduates Research Experience ( REU) programs.

Outreach activities: The BRC takes part in outreach activities to promote biotechnology and life science education. Examples include hosting workshops for the Summer Youth Programs and assisting K-12 students in Science Fair projects.

D. Governance Structure
Currently BRC is located in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (FRES). The BRC director reports to the Dean of FRES.

1. Leadership
The Director will serve a three-year term, from the Fall semester of the 1 st year to the Summer semester of the 3 rd year in accordance to MTU academic calendar. No director should serve consecutive terms. In the Spring semester of 2007, one semester prior to the end of the first 3-year term, and every three years thereafter, the Director will be selected based on a nomination process and secret ballot of the BRC faculty members, and appointed by the Dean of FRES. Should the Director resign mid-term, a new Director will be chosen through the same nomination and election process, and appointed by the Dean of FRES. The Director does not receive compensation from the BRC, but will be provided with an administrative staff assistant supported by the BRC.

The Director is responsible for the management and coordination of the efforts of BRC scientists, acting to focus research and provide leadership in activities that support the mission and vision of the Center. Specific responsibilities include:

Coordination of all Center operations and delegation of operational duties within the Center as necessary.

Coordination of external operations, including external contacts with industry, government agencies, and other research organizations.

Oversight of general laboratory and instrument operation, supervision of the support staff, and organization of regular BRC meetings.

General research operations of the Center, including the coordination of the Center’s website, and maintenance of records and publications.

Administration of the BRC general fund incentive account and user-fee accounts.

2. Administrative staff support
The BRC director dedicates about 10% of his/her time to the management and administration of the BRC, besides his/her other academic/research responsibilities. Thus, an administrative assistant is necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the Center. The assistant’s responsibilities include:

Management of BRC instrument and facility service/repair requests

Management of financial reports, incentive return allocation, accounting and billing activities associated with the BRC general fund and user fee accounts.

Assisting with purchase requisitions, tracking and billing.

Assisting with proposal paper work and budget preparation etc.

Assisting with employment paperwork and visa applications.

Maintenance of BRC database, meeting minutes and other Center records.

Distribution of general announcements for meetings, seminars, BRC grant applications, etc.

Answering queries and correspondence, and helping with general problems.

3. Membership, directorship and voting privileges
Membership: MTU academic and research faculty members who are actively engaged in biotechnology research and share the vision of BRC are invited to join the Center. Membership nomination must be endorsed by two BRC faculty members and submitted to the Director. Upon consultation with the BRC faculty, the Director will extend a membership invitation to the prospective member.

Directorship: BRC members serving as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on currently funded extramural projects that generate overhead return are eligible for directorship and directorship nomination. Election will be conducted by secret ballot of all BRC faculty members. BRC members who do not have active grants that generate overhead can participate in the Director election, but cannot serve as candidates.

4. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee will advise the Director on decisions regarding BRC operation, budget management and Center priorities. The Executive Committee is composed of three BRC faculty members representing College of Engineering, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, and College of Science and Arts. Each College/School representative is selected by the members from within that College or School prior to the Fall semester of each year. Additional standing or task-oriented committees may be formed on a need basis.

5. Meetings
The BRC will hold quarterly meetings. Regular business at each meeting will include quarterly budget update and faculty research presentations. Fall semester meetings will also include committee membership elections and an annual budget report by the Director.

E. Resources

1. Facilities and equipment
Each BRC faculty member has assigned office and laboratory space from his/her home academic unit. In addition, the following common laboratories in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science are overseen by the BRC director: tissue culture laboratory (151), walk-in growth chamber (G012A), molecular biology laboratory (152), chemistry laboratory (G012), sequencer room (154), dark room (154A), radioisotope room (154B, in consultation with FRES DRUs), histology laboratory (155A), conference room (155), and BRC greenhouses (158E-F).

2. BRC budget
Funding for BRC operations is supported by a portion of the indirect cost (IDC) recovered from BRC-affiliated grants. Current distribution of the approved 60% IDC return is as follows: 20.7% to BRC, 20% (including the standard PI 6% incentive return) to PIs, 12% to department chairs, and 7.3% to college/school deans.

The BRC general fund (20.7%) is primarily used for Center instrument and facility maintenance, BRC administrative staff support, and other activities that support the mission and vision of the Center. The BRC fund is administered and managed by the Director with advice from the Executive Committee. The Director shall perform an annual budget review, including actual expenditures of the past year and current year projection in the Fall semester of each academic year.

New initiatives that support the BRC mission and that require financial support from the BRC general fund may be proposed, budget permitting. Such proposals must be initiated by BRC members who currently generate overhead return to the BRC general fund, discussed at BRC meetings and approved by BRC faculty and Director. The purpose of these restrictions is to keep the BRC focused on the generation of extramural grant support that will encourage growth of the Center. The Center cannot accomplish its mission without extramural grant support.

PI funds (20%) are intended to strengthen individual research programs. Typical activities supported by PI funds, at the discretion of individual PIs, include graduate/undergraduate student, postdoc or technician support, faculty summer salaries, travel expenses for attending national and international meetings, improvement of individual laboratory facilities (e.g., equipment purchase, upgrade, repair etc), and new research initiatives.

3. Designation of BRC Projects/Proposals
The BRC Director will make all decisions on whether projects or proposals fit within the scope of the BRC and may be designated by MTU as BRC projects or proposals.

F. Annual Reports
The BRC will submit an annual report to the Vice President for Research at the end of each academic year. The Director will prepare the annual report in consultation with the BRC faculty. The annual report will summarize the activities of the Center for the past year.

G. Governance Document Review
Proposed changes to the Charter can be initiated by BRC members who currently generate overhead return. The proposed changes must be discussed at BRC meetings and approved by a two-thirds majority of the BRC faculty members.