Dr. Loida Escote Carlson

Biography

Loida Escote-Carlson is an Emeritus Teaching Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State University. She earned her PhD in Genetics from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and holds BS and Master’s degrees from the University of the Philippines. After completing her PhD, she joined Cangene Corporation, a biotechnology company in Ontario, Canada, as a research scientist. She later moved to the Biotechnology Laboratory at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, where she became a tenured lecturer. At UBC, she established the Advanced Teaching Laboratory for Molecular Biology programs and contributed to training graduate students, research staff, and faculty, alongside K-12 outreach initiatives. Upon her hiring at Penn State, she began to develop a similar teaching and training laboratory, later directing the Master of Biotechnology program, which has achieved significant success in preparing students for diverse career opportunities in biotechnology. She co-founded the National Professional Science Masters Association and served on its Board of Directors for several years. Additionally, she initiated and co-organized the Biotechnology Advisory Board at Penn State, which consists of successful ECoS alumni in the biotechnology industry, aimed to advise the Master of Biotechnology program and support intellectual property development within the College. Currently, she continues to serve as an academic adviser for the MBIOT program and teaches courses in molecular biology and biotechnology.

Research Interests