Blended Learning for Training of Cell Therapy Manufacturing Personnel

The goal of this project is to create an online course on the fundamentals of cell therapy manufacturing that is coupled to a companion hands-on training component.

Project status

100% Completed

Industry Need

Given the clinical successes and recent licensing approvals of CAR-T cell therapy products, there is a growing need for a well-trained workforce to deliver these lifesaving therapies. Currently, there are few, if any, formal training programs for cell therapy manufacturing and training of individuals in the basics is carried out on an ad hoc basis by company subject matter experts when need arises.

Solution

The solution is a creation of an online course on the fundamentals of cell therapy manufacturing that is coupled to a companion hands-on training component. The development of an online resource that teaches important fundamental concepts, which is also tied into a hands-on training component, accelerates the training of all levels of the cell therapy manufacturing workforce and decreases the resources required to bring new hires up to speed. Additionally, this type of blended learning environment modernizes learning such that the online component of the training will “immortalize” concepts so that they are available on demand, either to train individuals as they are hired or to review important concepts as needed.

Outputs/Deliverables

Online course outputs:

22 video lectures
70 short expert interviews/videos of equipment in action
154 short text-based lessons
129 custom graphics to teach the cell therapy concepts
33 unique ”skill drills” to check student learning (made up of ~80 unique exercises)
3 unique problem sets to assess student understanding

Hands-on training outputs

lab manuals (3), standard operating procedures (26), and lecture materials (12) were developed
equipment purchased included: Tube welders and sealers, transfection equipment, cell therapy relevant culture equipment (e.g., Miltenyi CliniMACS Prodigy and Xuri bioreactor), Sepax CPro for cell separation and washing, automated cell counters, and a controlled rate freezer

Impacts

This project will create a formalized training program to help individuals transition from traditional biotechnology fields to cell therapy development and manufacturing.

First-of-its-kind modernized blended learning environment with online, self-paced learning coupled with periodic hands-on training for cell therapy manufacturing.

Publications

Yang, M., Keumurian, F., Neufeld, C., Skrip, E., Duguid, J., Vega-Mercado, H., Rao, R., Rolle, M., Springs, S., Wolfrum, J., Barone, P., & Van Vliet, K. (2024). Upskilling the cell therapy manufacturing workforce: design, implementation, and evaluation of a massive open online course. Advances in Physiology Education. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00077.2023