Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute Helps Fuel Tech Sector Growth with its Flagship Vocational Program

By Deborah Drew

The Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI) was launched in 2013 in the belief that the ocean represents a new source of opportunity. As a not-for-profit whose ambitious mission is to “address critical challenges facing our oceans, human health and the environment through innovative scientific research and education,”

GMGI is demonstrating that there is vast potential in marine science discovery powered by genomics — the study of the complete set of DNA — including all of its genes — in a person or other organism.

Located at a 400-year-old port that offers the ideal location and maritime infrastructure for situating the world’s first dedicated marine genomics research institute, GMGI offers STEM education and workforce development programming.

The Research Institute

GMGI has established a world-class marine biotechnology research institute, powered by genomics on the Gloucester waterfront. The primary focus is on research that connects with human health, oceans and the environment. It also is focused on the science of fishery research.

Education/Academy

GMGI has created a vibrant science learning environment at its Blackburn Center. The Gloucester Biotechnology Academy flagship vocational program educates local, high school graduates for careers as biotech lab technicians, with a lab-immersion curriculum and paid internships in regional biotech companies such as New England BioLabs, Cell Signaling Technology, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Its hands-on technical training offers a STEM pathway for young people who lack the means or mindset to enter college after high school, but who possess the drive to forge better lives for themselves.

The Academy, which has been supported by the National Grid Foundation for nearly two years, offers a 10-month, full-time, certified vocational program that trains graduates in the Greater Cape Ann region for careers as professional lab technicians in a range of life science, biomanufacturing, and research roles. The Academy is one of the only program of its kind in Greater Boston, with a state-of-the-art teaching lab and a proprietary curriculum designed to the highest industry lab standards. The innovative program consists of two semesters covering genetics, cell culture, and biomanufacturing, all taking place at GMGI’s dedicated Academy facility. Its facility includes a teaching lab, a DNA sequencing lab, and a mammalian culture lab, as well as a biomanufacturing teaching lab.

The Academy’s curriculum is based on the premise that biotechnology and biomanufacturing skills can be learned as a vocational program when taught from the [lab] bench, rather than in the traditional lecture model - and that such an approach will dissipate the barriers to science careers that arise from science today being reserved for college-bound students coming from more privileged backgrounds.

After 10 years in operation, the organization has grown to nearly 30 employees and the Academy has doubled the size of its teaching facility, serving 40 students a year, currently enrolling students for its eighth class.

GMGI’s ambitious research strategy is contributing to new discoveries impacting human health and the environment, and its state-of-the-art research institute has been joined by two research companies at its harborside location, with over 35 additional life sciences companies in a 17-mile radius.

By bringing world-class science and transformative workforce development to Gloucester’s historic waterfront, GMGI is catalyzing the regional economy. ❧