BioHub Maryland partners with Bowie State in life science career development

Maryland Tech Council workforce initiative BioHub Maryland has partnered with Bowie State University (BSU) to provide biomanufacturing training for 24 graduate and undergraduate students from the historically Black college.

BioHub Maryland has already selected students who will embark on the four-week program, which will enable them to develop technical skills at the BioHub Maryland Training and Education Center in Rockville. Students will learn an array of biomanufacturing skills including upstream processing, cell culture, and quality control.

“BioHub Maryland doesn’t just train students, it launches careers,” said Kelly Schulz, CEO of the Maryland Tech Council, which manages BioHub Maryland. “By working with Bowie State University, we’re ensuring a more robust pipeline of talent is ready to lead the next generation of biotech breakthroughs right here in Maryland.”

BioHub Maryland partnered with the Ireland-based National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), which designed the training curricula. Bowie State chose from dozens of NIBRT courses, tailoring its selections to meet the needs of the local industry in Maryland. BioHub Maryland appointed a Biomanufacturing Training Specialist to guide and instruct the BSU cohort. “He spent weeks in Ireland training with NIBRT to fully immerse himself in the programming,” Schulz told BioProcess Insider.

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Schulz added that the employment outlook for biomanufacturing workers is dynamic in Maryland, with some sectors slowing down while others continue to grow and thrive. “Maryland continues to hire life science employees at a higher rate than the national average, as well as developing current employee skills and career advancement.”

Schulz said that students will spend the first day gaining an overview of biomanufacturing, cleanroom classification design, and cleanroom contamination control. They will “tour the lab space and begin to understand the role of the cleanroom in life sciences and biomanufacturing.”

“Maryland and the BioCapital Region were just ranked the #3 biopharma cluster in America, demonstrating a strong ecosystem and partnerships between industry, training providers, academia, and government,” Schulz told us. “BioHub Maryland is playing a key role by working closely with industry partners to identify workforce needs and develop targeted training programs that upskill workers and prepare them for in-demand roles across the life sciences sector.”