Clark opens biotech lab expansion funded by $750K life sciences grant

A large group of people stand in a science lab

Photo | Courtesy of Clark University Clark University opened a new biotech lab on Oct 30.

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Clark University in Worcester has opened a new biotechnology research laboratory after one of its professors received a $750,000 grant in support of the project.

The lab, funded by a Workforce Development Capital Grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, will focus on the study seeking to advance understanding of the molecular basis of human diseases, according to a Clark press release issued Thursday.

“This grant money has been truly transformative for our research team,” Professor Donald Spratt, the Clark professor who applied for the grant, said in the press release. The funding is giving “students more hands-on learning opportunities and helping support the biotechnology pipelines we’re developing here at Clark.”

The new laboratory will help the state meet job demand needs as the state adds a predicted 38,000 new biotech jobs over the next decade, said Ryan Mudawar, vice president of education and workforce programs at the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

“We need all the support we can get from our academic partners and training organizations to make sure we have the workforce pipeline needed to fill the jobs we’re creating,” said Mudawar in the press release.

While the lab had its official ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, students have already been using the lab to study enzymes responsible for cancers and other diseases.

“The protein research being done by Professor Spratt and his students inside this lab aspires to improve health outcomes and extend lives. It is important and impactful work,” Clark President David Fithian said in the press release. “We are incredibly grateful that the Mass Life Sciences Center has recognized the consequential nature of this research and has chosen to play a critical role in empowering it to continue at an even more elevated level with state-of-the-art equipment funded through their grant.”

Founded in 2007, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is an economic development investment agency using public-private funding initiatives to boost the state’s life science industry.

Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.