{"id":29046,"date":"2026-07-30T12:26:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?post_type=story&#038;p=29046"},"modified":"2026-07-30T14:47:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:47:02","slug":"clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/","title":{"rendered":"Clark awarded grant to expand hands-on life sciences education, strengthen talent pipeline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<p>Clark University has been awarded&nbsp;$354,443&nbsp;from<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masslifesciences.com\">Massachusetts Life Sciences Center<\/a> (MLSC) to expand access to experiential life sciences education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clark was among the 22 academic institutions and nonprofit organizations \u2014 and one of only two schools based in Worcester \u2014 to receive an MLSC Post-Secondary Education and Training grant. In total, MLSC awarded more than $7.3 million to schools and nonprofit organizations to support the purchase and installation of laboratory equipment, materials, supplies, technology, and facility improvements that strengthen workforce training programs and prepare students for high-demand careers in the life sciences.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The grant is part of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.masslifesciences.com\/healey-driscoll-administration-and-massachusetts-life-sciences-center-announce-12-3-million-to-support-life-sciences-education-and-workforce-development\/\">$12.3 million awarded by MLSC and the Healey-Driscoll Administration<\/a>&nbsp;through the MLSC\u2019s&nbsp;Education and Workforce Development Grant Program. Together, the investments will expand&nbsp;access to hands-on life sciences education, out-of-school time learning opportunities, industry-aligned certificate and degree programs, and transformational workforce development initiatives that strengthen the Commonwealth\u2019s life sciences talent pipeline and prepare learners for careers in the life sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group alignright boxout has-white-color has-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-548f365fbb1d41c6ee00e4664595671a is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-large-font-size\" id=\"h-pursue-a-biotech-career\">Pursue a biotech career<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udd2c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/programs\/major\/biochemistry-and-molecular-biology-bs\/\">Major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83e\uddeb <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/programs\/major\/biology-bs\/\">Major in Biology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83e\uddea <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/departments\/chemistry\/\">Major in Chemistry<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83c\udf0e <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/departments\/health-science-society\/\">Major in Health, Science, and Society<\/a><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are grateful to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for its continued investment in Clark University and in the students who will become the next generation of life sciences professionals,\u201d said&nbsp;Jennifer Hanselman,<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>associate provost and dean of research at Clark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThrough enhanced laboratory facilities and equipment, this award will provide more students with the hands-on experiences needed to succeed in graduate education, research careers, and the life sciences workforce, while strengthening the talent pipeline that supports Massachusetts\u2019 vibrant life sciences ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past two years, the MLSC has awarded Clark $1.1 million to support its biotech workforce training infrastructure through facility upgrades, equipment, and supplies to help prepare students for their careers. In 2024, Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/faculty\/profiles\/don-spratt\/\">Don Spratt<\/a> received a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/31\/i-couldnt-do-this-research-without-the-new-lab\/\">$750,000 Workforce Development Capital Grant<\/a> to transform his lab, modernize the University\u2019s biochemical instrumentation, and strengthen the research-grade training available to Clark students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe new&nbsp;Center for Biomolecular Research and Experiential Learning&nbsp;will transform how our students learn biochemistry at Clark,\u201d said&nbsp;Spratt, chair of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/departments\/chemistry\/\">Department of Chemistry<\/a> and director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/departments\/biochemistry-and-molecular-biology\/\">Biochemistry and Molecular Biology<\/a> (BCMB) program.&nbsp;\u201cStudents will gain valuable hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture, sterile technique, microscopy, quantitative analysis, and experimental troubleshooting as they move from growing living cells to generating and interpreting molecular data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese investments will have a lasting impact on biochemistry education at Clark and prepare generations of undergraduates for graduate study, research, and careers in the life sciences,\u201d Spratt added. \u201cWe are incredibly grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for their continued investment in our students, and I am eager to see the Center come to life this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe groundbreaking discoveries and medical breakthroughs that happen in Massachusetts are made possible by the extraordinary talent we cultivate here,\u201d said Governor Maura Healey in announcing the grants. \u201cThese awards will expand opportunities for learners across the Commonwealth to gain the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experiences they need to succeed in one of our state\u2019s most important industries.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the inception of the Life Sciences Initiative, the MLSC has invested more than $240 million through various programs supporting education and workforce training that strengthens the life sciences talent pipeline.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe life sciences are foundational to Massachusetts\u2019 economy, and maintaining our leadership in this ecosystem depends on building a strong, skilled workforce,\u201d said Eric Paley, secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development and co-chair of the MLSC Board of Directors. \u201cThese investments strengthen the connection between education and industry, ensuring residents across the Commonwealth have the opportunities and resources they need to pursue rewarding careers while helping Massachusetts life sciences companies meet the workforce demands required to drive the next generation of groundbreaking discoveries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese investments also ensure that low-income, underrepresented, and non-traditional learners from every region of Massachusetts, whether located in our Gateway Cities or rural communities, have the skills and opportunities needed to enter and grow within the life sciences workforce,\u201d MLSC President and CEO Kirk Taylor, M.D., added.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clark has received a $354,443 grant from the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to expand experiential learning in life sciences and support Worcester\u2019s biotech talent pipeline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21599,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"var(--clarku-color-blue)","story_headerImg":21599,"section_label":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[246,227,239],"displayed_author":[498],"featured":[494],"topic":[160,209,638,127,648],"class_list":["post-29046","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-wellbeing","category-science-technology","category-worcester-world","displayed_author-clark-news-staff","featured-secondary","topic-faculty-research","topic-grants","topic-grants-and-awards","topic-undergraduate-research","topic-workforce-training"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.1 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Clark awarded grant to expand hands-on life sciences education, strengthen talent pipeline | ClarkU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Clark awarded grant to expand hands-on life sciences education, strengthen talent pipeline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Clark has received a $354,443 grant from the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to expand experiential learning in life sciences and support Worcester\u2019s biotech talent pipeline.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ClarkU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-30T18:47:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/30\\\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/30\\\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\\\/\",\"name\":\"Clark awarded grant to expand hands-on life sciences education, strengthen talent pipeline | ClarkU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/30\\\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/30\\\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-30T16:26:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-30T18:47:02+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/30\\\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/30\\\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706,\"caption\":\"Student working in a science lab\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\\\/29046#breadcrumbs\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":0,\"name\":\"ClarkU\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"ClarkU News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":6,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\\\/29046\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"ClarkU News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Clark awarded grant to expand hands-on life sciences education, strengthen talent pipeline | ClarkU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Clark awarded grant to expand hands-on life sciences education, strengthen talent pipeline","og_description":"Clark has received a $354,443 grant from the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to expand experiential learning in life sciences and support Worcester\u2019s biotech talent pipeline.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/","og_site_name":"ClarkU News","article_modified_time":"2026-07-30T18:47:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1706,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/","name":"Clark awarded grant to expand hands-on life sciences education, strengthen talent pipeline | ClarkU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-30T16:26:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-30T18:47:02+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/30\/clark-awarded-grant-to-expand-hands-on-life-sciences-education-strengthen-talent-pipeline\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706,"caption":"Student working in a science lab"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/29046#breadcrumbs","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":0,"name":"ClarkU","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ClarkU News","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":6,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/29046"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/","name":"ClarkU News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_New_Spratt_Lab-43-web-scaled-2-1024x682.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/29046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/29046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29071,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/29046\/revisions\/29071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29046"},{"taxonomy":"displayed_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/displayed_author?post=29046"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=29046"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=29046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}