Fayetteville State University to Host Bioprocessing Training Hub
Fayetteville, N.C. (Jan. 27, 2023) — Fayetteville State University (FSU) will be one of six new bioprocessing training hubs, designed to increase the number of North Carolinians participating in the state’s growing biomanufacturing industry. Created through a $6.2 million award from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge to North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), these hubs are intended to strengthen North Carolina’s life sciences manufacturing cluster by expanding, connecting, and promoting training and career opportunities to underserved and distressed communities, including historically excluded populations.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to the Fayetteville and Cumberland County communities,” said Erin White, Ph.D., associate dean of FSU’s Lloyd College of Health, Science and Technology. “Through this program, anyone, regardless of educational background, can receive training in bioprocessing and join North Carolina’s growing biomanufacturing industry.”
NCCU’s BRITE focuses on research and training efforts that contribute to workforce development for the biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical industries in North Carolina. The training hubs, including FSU’s, will deliver hands-on, short courses, free of charge, on manufacturing biopharmaceuticals to an inclusive and diverse population.
The training hub will be in the Lyons Science Building. FSU will begin recruiting students and community members to participate this summer, with the first trainings scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2023. This effort will be led by Daniel Autrey, Ph.D., associate professor and chair, FSU Department of Chemistry, Physics and Materials Science; and Danielle Graham, Ph.D., assistant professor and interim chair, FSU Department of Biology and Forensic Sciences, in the the Lloyd College of Health, Science and Technology.