Salsbury Cove, Maine (4/11/2022) – BioConnects New England (BCNE) and the Maine IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) are excited to announce a partnership to create a robust biomanufacturing industry cluster in the New England region.
With this partnership, BioConnects New England and Maine INBRE aim to promote the growth and sustainability of the life sciences industry in New England through academic excellence and strategic programming. Additionally, BioConnects New England and Maine INBRE agree to foster research and development collaboration on a range of projects. Maine INBRE will also connect BioConnects partners within the Maine INBRE network, assist with outreach to Maine INBRE partners and local communities, and provide stipend support for up to two undergraduate INBRE fellows participating in a 10-week summer internship in a life sciences industry setting.
“Given Maine INBRE’s focus on providing biomedical research training to create a technically skilled workforce, this organization will be a great partner,” said Jared Auclair, Ph.D., an associate dean at Northeastern University and director of their Biopharmaceutical Analysis Training Lab and co-lead of BioConnects New England. “The BioConnects New England coalition looks forward to working with Maine INBRE to expand our outreach and efforts.”
“Maine INBRE is built on collaboration, and we understand how important it is, and how much can be achieved in this kind of coalition,” said Dustin Updike, associate professor and Maine INBRE program coordinator at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. “We are excited to join this impressive group working to build and strengthen the biomanufacturing industry throughout Maine and beyond.”
Through its grant challenge sponsored by the Economic Development Administration, BioConnects New England is leveraging its resources in the region to create a robust biomanufacturing industry. Massachusetts-based Northeastern University leads the coalition, which includes The Biopharmaceutical Analysis Training Laboratory at Northeastern University, The Roux Institute at Northeastern University in Portland, Maine, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, -the I-195 Design & Innovation District in Providence, Rhode Island, the University of Rhode Island, and FocusMaine in Portland. The coalition will lead K-12 education and engagement activities, jumpstart prototyping and incubation facilities throughout the region, and invest in accessible start-up entrepreneurship programming.
ABOUT BIOCONNECTS NEW ENGLAND
BioConnects New England is a multi-state coalition and finalist of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge—a $1 billion program sponsored by the Economic Development Administration. Through this initiative, BioConnects New England will create a biomanufacturing cluster in the region of Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island that have been historically excluded from the biotechnology industry, one of the fastest-growing sectors in New England with national importance. This coalition will connect hubs throughout New England to support existing—and establish new—biomanufacturing infrastructure as a pathway to increase employment and educational opportunities for underserved regions and populations.
ABOUT THE MAINE IDeA NETWORK OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH EXCELLENCE (INBRE)
The Maine IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) is a collaborative network of Maine educational and research institutions led by the MDI Biological Laboratory and sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. Maine INBRE members also include Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, College of the Atlantic, the Jackson Laboratory, Southern Maine Community College, the University of Maine, the Universities of Maine at Farmington, Fort Kent, Machias, and Presque Isle, and the University of New England. Maine INBRE strengthens Maine’s capacity to conduct competitive biomedical research.
