CCC’s Biotechnology program has developed a partnership with a community group called Urban Tilth to study the soil as they develop it at their North Richmond Farm. Urban Tilth has been active in Richmond for over 10 years with a mission is to build a healthy, sustainable, and just food system. CCC’s biotechnology program will contribute microbiome information about the living organisms that Urban Tilth is nurturing in the soil to turn barren land into a really productive food source for the community! Our Lab team analyzes soil productivity in the lab, and performs DNA extraction, sequencing, and bioinformatics techniques to identify and analyze the bacterial communities present in the plants and in the soil.
Lab team projects
Analyzes soil productivity in the lab, and performs DNA extraction, sequencing, and bioinformatics techniques to identify and analyze the bacterial communities present in the plants and in the soil
- Opportunity to use cutting-edge reagents and techniques to perform real research
- Sample, assay and analyze soil to generate data for a long term study with the goal of a scientific publication useful to our client
- Develop and test protocols using troubleshooting techniques and Quality Assurance/Quality Control tools and processes common in biomanufacturing
- Prepare and present communications for our ‘client’, Urban Tilth, and also scientific audiences
- While much less than the 10-40 hours/week you’d spend at an internship, you’ll gain a good amount of professional experience by joining this team
DNA Team
DNA extraction and preparation for sequencing. Use chemistry and molecular biology techniques to extract DNA from samples and amplify it for our next sequencing round.
Soil Microbiology Team
Microbiology analysis. Grow microbes from farm soil in the lab and analyze which organisms are present in the most productive parts of the farm
Plant Team
Measure growth of crops in a controlled lab environment to develop scientific data to inform Urban Tilth about which parts of their farm are most productive for growing food.
Bioinformatics Team
We have sequence data to analyze! Use computer software to analyze DNA sequences extracted from past teams’ work. Use DNA information to identify the microbes in the soil and how they change with Urban Tilth’s work on the farm.
CCC’s Biotechnology Program has also developed partnerships with a biotech company called i-Cultiver and a USDA-UC Berkeley (PGEC) researcher named Devin Coleman-Derr to provide technical support and expertise for our work. This project and these partnerships are expected to continue for 5-10 years as the soil at the farm develops.