Celebrating 30 Years of ABE
The Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The program has come a long way from our original single school in Newbury Park, CA (USA), to now being in 10 sites across the United States and more than 13 countries globally. We could not have grown and adapted the program without you, our amazing teachers. Thank you!
In honor of our 30th anniversary, we created several new videos and articles to celebrate the global evolution of the program and to honor the people who made it all happen. You can access it all from our 30th anniversary landing page, and we have also provided some links below. We encourage you to share these resources with your students and their families, administrators, and others in your community, especially during the pandemic when we might not be able to connect with our communities as much as we would like to in person.
Spread the Word
Letter to Parents
We encourage you to download and share this letter with parents/guardians, giving them an overview of the course and its benefit for their children. You can customize the language to fit your needs.
Communications for Schools
We encourage you to share the following message with your schools, for them to use on their websites, in their newsletters, or in other ways they see fit:
Our school [or insert school name] is a proud participant in the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE). This year, ABE celebrates its 30th anniversary. The program enables our students to participate in hands-on biotechnology labs by providing free equipment and training to our bioscience teachers. Over the past 30 years, ABE has reached nearly 850,000 students and is now available in 10 U.S. states and 13 countries globally. You can learn more about ABE and its anniversary on our 30th Anniversary landing page.
Social Media Posts
Help us celebrate 30 years of ABE by sharing our new content on your social media channels. Here are some sample tweets to help you get started; you can use them as is or make them your own. Also feel free to share them with your school administrators for their modification and use:
Proud to participate in the Amgen Biotech Experience, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year! The program now reaches nearly 850,000 students in 13 countries. http://amgenbiotechexperience.com/ABE30th #ScienceMadePossible @ABEProgOffice @AmgenFoundation
Celebrating 30 Years of the Amgen Biotech Experience! Proud to be an ABE teacher! Check out this new video about the early history of the program: https://youtu.be/0cDFM0Ia11E #ScienceMadePossible @ABEProgOffice @AmgenFoundation
The Amgen Biotech Experience has come a long way in 30 years, now reaching nearly 850,000 students in 13 countries globally. Learn more in this fun new video: https://youtu.be/2AvmQSRhsAE #ScienceMadePossible @ABEProgOffice @AmgenFoundation
New 30th Anniversary Videos
30 Years of ABE: A Global Evolution (00:02:20) gives an overview of the past. present and future of the program.
30 Years of ABE: The Teacher-Student Bond (00:02:35) highlights the important relationship between teacher and students through the story of ABE teacher #1, Hugh Nelson, and two of his students.
30 Years of ABE: From Humble Origins (00:05:46) showcases the early work by Hugh Nelson, Rick Jacobsen, and Marty Ikkanda, working with Bruce Wallace to establish ABE.
Teacher Stories
30 Years of ABE: Veteran Teachers Reflect of the Evolution of the Program features early recollections and links to stories about Winnie Litten (Oak Park High School - CA) and Ann Cortina (West High - CA).
Shifting Biotech from the Lab to the Computer: Distance Learning in the Time of COVID shows how teachers have adapted their biotech classes during the pandemic; featuring teachers Scott Atkinson (Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School - MA), Michele Patrick (Porterville High School - CA), and Julie Pankowicz (Coventry High School - RI).
Braving the COVID-19 Storm with a Reliable Distance-Learning Resource highlights efforts by teachers in Italy to integrate new online tools like LabXchange into their distance learning; features teacher Silvia Maria Lippo (Liceo Labriola - Naples).
How New Teachers Continue to Shape the Program introduces Lindsay Guntner (Brandon High School) and Laura Widerberg (Armwood High School) as they describe their experiences as two of ABE's newest teachers in our site in Tampa, Florida, USA.
Student Stories
An Alumnus Reflects on the Relationship That Would Spark His Career: A profile of Vincent Tedjasaputra, an ABE alumnus who is now a AAAS fellow at the National Science Foundation after getting a PhD in pulmonary physiology
Taking the Big Picture View and Making Science Real: A profile of Michele Suleiman, an ABE alumna, who is now a senior project manager at Amgen
Unique Journey to a Career in Biotech: A profile of Kim Barbato, an ABE alumna, who is now a senior manager at Amgen
Tell Us Your ABE Story!
Do you have a story to share about your experiences with ABE as a student, teacher, program site leader, or biotech partner? If you share your story with us, you might be featured in one of our blog posts. We thank you in advance.
Site Success Stories
Student Ambassadors Provide Mentorship Link for ABE Hong Kong shares the success of ABE Hong Kong with its college ambassador program.
Providing Equitable STEM Education in Rural Australia and Beyond explores the novel ways ABE Australia is bringing equitable learning and resources to a growing number of students.