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In recognition of his outstanding career of accomplishment, biology Professor Frank Bayliss has been selected by CSUPERB—the CSU Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology—to receive this year’s Andreoli Biotechnology Service Award.
In truth, Bayliss has had two distinguished careers at San Francisco State.
Bayliss’ first two decades at SFSU were spent teaching and conducting research in microbiology and biology. He taught hundreds of undergraduates and graduate students, supervised more than 30 masters’ theses, and established the genetic engineering research laboratory on campus.
He began his “second career” in 1992, when he founded the Student Enrichment Opportunities (SEO) office for biology and chemistry students. While his first career was focused on making scientific discoveries, in this second career his goal is to discover new scientists.
“I have a knack for running large programs and making them work,” says Bayliss in an understated manner. Those programs include an “alphabet soup”— MARC, MBRS-RISE, PREP, MA-MS/Ph.D Bridge — that offers everything from advanced challenges for gifted students to remedial work for those who have a passion for science but didn’t get the needed foundation in high school. They are funded by more than $32 million in federal and private grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Education and Beckman Scholar’s program. To date, more than 700 undergrads and graduate students have benefited from the SEO’s scholarships, research mentoring, skills classes and seminars.
Some SEO programs are focused specifcally on students from under-represented minority groups and are so successful that Bayliss is adapting his model for the National Institutes of Health for use across the country. “As a direct result of these programs, SFSU is placing significant numbers of under-represented students into high quality Ph.D. programs,” notes John Hafernik, professor and chair of Biology. “On average about 9 percent of biology undergraduates do Ph.D.s,” Bayliss says, “and so far our programs are running at more like 40 percent.”
Bayliss is a results-driven scientist, and clearly enjoys seeing the fruits of his labor. It’s common, he says, for participating students to make solid increases in their grade-point averages, to gain confidence, and to demonstrate solid understanding of complex material.There are other measures of success, too. SFSU awards more bachelor of science degrees to students who continue on and complete Ph.D. degrees than any other comprehensive (master’s level) university in the nation, and in biology/chemistry combined ranks second overall. Students who earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees at SFSU have a great track record for getting into science Ph.D. programs—and completing them. “We have about a 90 percent persistence rate,” Bayliss says, “above the average for all graduate students. That means they’re really well prepared.”
Anyone who majors in science or math has a strong interest and passion for the subject, Bayliss says, but they may not be ready to face the demands. “Many high schools don’t prepare students for the rigors of studying science,” Bayliss says. “You can take a sink or swim position, or you can try to figure out a way to keep students in the game and perform to their ability.”To help students perform—and excel—SEO offers scholarships, facilitated study groups, help with time management and opportunities to do active lab work.
Bayliss also does one-on-one mentoring with the 170 students in his programs. He creates a four-semester sequence of science and math courses for each student, designing it so that they steadily build skills.
He connects students with professional organizations that offer role models and support, prepares them to present at national scientific meetings, and even talks with parents who are eager to see students “get a real job” instead of
pursuing graduate studies.Former student Cheryl Thompson, now at Harvard University earning a Ph.D. in cell biology, says that “after a one-hour meeting with Frank I had the next three years of my life planned out.” When she left that meeting she told a colleague, “Frank just handed me my future.”
“Frank has been more than just a teacher to me,” says former student Jacinto Villaneueva, Ph.D., now a research scientist at Eptomics Inc. “Not only did he encourage me, but he gave me financial support through the first Bridge grant for under-represented minorities.”
Other former students praise his attitude and principles. Michelle Alegria-Hartman earned a Ph.D. in molecular genetics at UC Davis after completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees at SFSU. “He drew you into science with his enthusiasm, energy and openness to answering questions,” she said, “and most importantly… he would be honest.”
“I essentially ‘teach’ new employees and coach staff all the time,” said Pamela Delucchi (MS ’87), now director of project development at BD Biosciences Clontech, “and I learned a lot from Frank about how to do that.”“He’s been mentoring me ever since my days at SFSU,” says former student Manuel J. Torres, now pursuing a Ph.D. at UC Davis.
“But you can’t do this job as a counselor,” Bayliss admits. “You really have to know what the rigors and requirements are. I’ve been through this. I went to school full time and worked full time, so I know what the challenges are. Having that empathy—understanding what students are up against without judging them—is important.”
You also can’t focus on classwork alone, he says. Science students need experience with hands-on laboratory work under the guidance of active researchers. “When you teach science you can’t teach it out of a textbook—that’s the history of science,” Bayliss says. “Active discovery and inquiry is what science is all about.”
—Ellen Griffin
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