BioPathways Northwest Ohio | May 7, 2026 | Bowling Green State University
Ohio’s life sciences sector spans nearly 5,000 companies and employs 64,000 people statewide. Northwest Ohio is part of that ecosystem. The jobs are there. The question is whether students can see the path from classroom to career, and whether their teachers have the tools to show them.
That’s the problem BioPathways was designed to solve.
Nathan Snedeker teaches biology in Plain City. He knows the science. His students work through DNA extraction, protein synthesis, cell structure. The content is rigorous. But content alone doesn’t build career readiness.
“We have so many kids who don’t know what opportunities are there,” Nathan said. “They have an interest in science, and they have an idea of where they can go, but that idea isn’t clear enough for them to actually know what the steps are.”
BioPathways fills that gap with direct industry access and curriculum that mirrors real workforce applications.
David Miller teaches biology and human anatomy at Orange High School in Pepper Pike. He arrived at a BioPathways workshop already comfortable with the central dogma of molecular biology. Then he walked through a working biosciences facility.
“The strong connection between what I teach in biology and the work they’re doing right there in the lab — and more importantly, that it’s happening right here in Ohio,” David said. “The science they’re learning in my classroom translates to careers that hopefully they can envision for themselves.”
That translation from academic concept to industry application is what changes a student’s trajectory.
Shadayah Lawrence teaches biotechnology at Ponitz Career Technical Center in Dayton. She came to BioPathways from an industry background, not a traditional education track. She measures professional development by one standard: can she use it Monday morning?
“Ohio Life Sciences professional developments are consistently high quality,” she said. “I always walk away with actual labs, materials, and ideas I can implement in class the following week or semester. It’s not something that requires extensive planning or purchasing expensive materials.”
That kind of practical, implementation-ready training is rare. Teachers notice.
For Liz Litteral, program manager for Cool Tech Girls, the workshop reframed the scope of what’s possible for students at every level. “There are so many opportunities in the workforce, in biotech, that I didn’t know about. Now I can help them understand there are so many options, even more than what you ever learned in the classroom.”
The peer network built at BioPathways extends that impact beyond a single classroom. “The networking opportunity between other educators is really cool,” Liz said. “Seeing their ideas, collaborating with them. I hope we all keep in touch and can help our students, wherever we’re from.”
Industry investment in teacher development pays dividends. Nathan said it directly: “Our jobs are probably even more important now, to give students as much exposure as possible to what they could do.”
Thirty Northwest Ohio teachers have the chance to do exactly that on May 7.
BioPathways Northwest Ohio May 7, 2026 | 8am–6pm Bowling Green State University
Free for Ohio Biology, AP Biology, 8th grade science, and Biotech teachers. Includes hands-on lab activities, facility tour, industry networking reception, lab equipment, modular curriculum, and 0.9 CEUs. Breakfast and lunch provided. Limited to 30 participants.
