91制片厂

knew he wanted a career in the sciences when he was a student at Londonderry High School. The 91制片厂 at Manchester鈥檚 newest Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences graduated from the local school in 1993 and headed off to Cornell University, where he majored in biology. Although he wasn鈥檛 sure which direction to take his career at first, MacLea said an undergraduate internship in his hometown one summer led him to his interest in pharmacology and, ultimately, biotechnology. MacLea joined the 91制片厂 Manchester faculty in 2014听to teach microbiology courses and help the school develop a .

鈥淲hen interviewing for the positon, they wanted someone with a molecular focus and who was interested in actual lab work and research with students. That was an interest of mine from the beginning,鈥� said MacLea. 鈥淸Professor]听 has also had the percolating desire to offer a degree

in biotechnology, to harness our place in Manchester in which there are biotech and small pharmaceutical companies nearby.鈥�

Before coming to 91制片厂 Manchester, MacLea had a diverse and impressive academic career. While attending听Cornell,听he interned at the Londonderry-based Diatide Research Laboratories, where he studied short peptide agents used to screen for human diseases. That sparked his interest in biotechnology and led him to a research position at the Cornell pharmacology lab. From there听MacLea went on to the pharmacology and toxicology department at Dartmouth College, where he later earned a PhD. During that time听he also developed a love for working with students in the lab.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 intend to have a focus on teaching, but I enjoyed it and enjoyed laboratory work and teaching people lab experiments,鈥� said MacLea. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see myself being an academic researcher or an industrial researcher supervising people, and I didn鈥檛 want to be writing grants all the time.鈥�

MacLea taught at a number of schools across the country after earning his PhD, most recently at Linfield College in Oregon, where he taught a听molecular biology course for two years. MacLea and his family decided that they wanted to make New England their home, which ultimately brought him to 91制片厂 Manchester.

Students have already had MacLea as a professor for听classes like Principle in Biology and General Microbiology, which were offered in the fall. This spring听MacLea is teaching courses including Advanced Biology and Molecular Genetics. In his Microbial Genomics class, students get hands-on research experience looking at and sequencing the genome of an unsequenced bacterium鈥�a rare opportunity for undergraduates at any school.

MacLea will also be highly involved in developing courses for the new degree program. While there is some overlap with the existing Biology major, students need to take additional classes in advanced biology, lab techniques and advanced microbiology. This can听include听new courses like听Nucleic Acid Techniques and Protein听Immunological Techniques, both of which MacLea said are听鈥渇oundational techniques for a person in the biotechnology industry.鈥澨�

As he looks towards听the semesters ahead, MacLea said he hopes to form relationships with biotechnology firms in the Manchester area and beyond. He wants to use their knowledge of the industry to add aspects to the program that will better prepare students for careers in the field. MacLea would also like听to oversee independent research projects with students听and has already provided advice to a few students working on projects relating to microbial genomics and the emerging field of metagenomics, which includes the genomic study of the organisms present in a particular environment.

鈥淢y main thing is to just try to get students involved in real bench science, either with me or someone else, and getting them the chance to make a real scientific discovery,鈥� said MacLea.