Bioversity at six months: a spectacular impact and significant room for improvement

In late summer 2022, MassBio’s leadership team was invited by Beacon Capital Properties to tour its redeveloped life sciences campus in Dorchester, Southline Boston, to discuss the prospect of MassBio opening and operating a workforce training center in its building.

At the time, the future Bioversity space looked like this:

After the visit, the MassBio team, where I previously led corporate affairs, decided that this was too good an opportunity to pass up. We couldn’t pass up the chance to create career paths for people who have traditionally been overlooked in the life sciences. It was also a way for MassBio to address a long-standing talent gap for our members by deepening and diversifying the talent pool.

We quickly developed the guiding principle that kept us moving forward: train people quickly and at scale to complement the existing workforce and education systems in Massachusetts. And from there, it was a non-stop sprint. 18 months of meeting with biopharma employers to learn if and where the demand for entry-level talent is for people with only a high school diploma and no biotech experience. 15 months of curriculum development in partnership with our friends at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. 12 months of building out the 4,000-square-foot training space, including the lab and classroom. 9 months of building community in Dorchester and surrounding neighborhoods to learn what potential students want from a training program and how we could best overcome barriers to participation, graduation, and employment. And 3 months of recruiting our first class.

The doors of Bioversity opened on January 8^th2024 to our first cohort of 18 students. I am proud to say that from the beginning, we have fulfilled our mission to intentionally recruit underrepresented and low-income students from Boston neighborhoods and surrounding communities. In the first class, 78% were Boston residents, 100% identified as Black or Latino (or both); 56% were women; and the average age was 31. The annual income of new students prior to enrolling at Bioversity was $26,400, well below the poverty line in Boston.

Our first cohort graduated on February 29th.^th and since then, we have enrolled and graduated two more cohorts for a total of 43 graduates in six months. Graduates are placed in a range of early-career scientific operations roles with titles such as lab support technician, logistics technician, manufacturing associate, molecular technician associate, senior site specialist, and more, at leading companies including abcam, Flagship Lab Services, Foundation Medicine, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Vertex. These are not just jobs, but the start of a career journey.

The best part: Our students’ average annual income of $28,000 climbs to $56,000 after graduation and placement; and these jobs include comprehensive benefits that allow our graduates to build wealth through 401ks and improve their and their families’ health outcomes through excellent health insurance.

Yet, Bioversity’s journey has not been easy. We have learned a lot in six months:

• Students who enroll at Bioversity are not desperate for a job. They want training to enter the biotech field, but they want to find a job that fits them. Many graduates have turned down offers.
• External circumstances can dictate the choice of a job more than we would like. Access to daycare within a very short time frame to work full-time. Driver’s license and access to a car. Shift work that does not fit with school hours. There are real factors that influence our decision to accept or not accept a job.
• Building employer trust is a journey that requires a lot of internal support and time.
• Companies want to help, but when it comes to recruiting, economic constraints are often an obstacle. If there is no full-time position available, the company cannot hire, even if they greatly appreciate our work and that of our graduates.
• Once an employer hires a Bioversity graduate and sees them in action, they come back for more.

The advantage of an 8-week training program is that we can adapt quickly. We are constantly revising our curriculum based on employer feedback. We have updated the student resume template three times over three cohorts to better meet employers’ expectations in the job market. We have added more interview preparation for our students as part of the program. And we are constantly building the capabilities of our job placement services.

The future of Bioversity looks bright. We have built a strong foundation of financial support from the City of Boston and the Massachusetts Life Science Center through their grant programs. We have received over 940 student applications. And our employer partner base continues to grow. We have our 4^th cohort training now and the 5^th launch in September. 2025 will be more of the same.

Bioversity’s mission is to open educational pathways and build employer connections for underrepresented populations and individuals traditionally excluded from the life sciences to quickly propel them into well-paying jobs and lifelong careers. We strive for an equitable life sciences industry that reflects the patient communities it serves and provides career opportunities for all who seek them.

I am proud to say that we are fulfilling our mission and are on track to continue doing so. But we can only grow and become a sustainable organization with more private financial support, more employee partners, and more student applications. Next year, we plan to train, graduate, and place 60 additional students and are looking to increase our impact regionally. Join me on this rewarding journey by supporting Bioversity.

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