The U.S. Department of Commerce and its Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced $51 million in federal funding to support the implementation of a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub that includes among its members the University of Notre Dame. Called Heartland BioWorks, the Hub is led by the Applied Research Institute and aims to enhance Indiana’s capacity to make and deploy life-saving medicines. 

Jeffrey F. Rhoads, vice president for research and professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, said, ”Heartland Bioworks’s new grant is exciting news for Indiana and the Midwest writ large. Every dollar will go toward establishing our region as a national and international leader in biotechnology and biomanufacturing. The University of Notre Dame could not be more proud to join together with the esteemed research institutions and industry partners helping to build an unparalleled innovation ecosystem and talent pipeline here in our state.”

Rhoads added, “We are especially pleased that through Heartland Bioworks, Notre Dame is able to contribute its expertise in data, bioengineering, and the life sciences while also driving economic and workforce development throughout the Midwest.”

Nitesh Chawla, the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and founding director of the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, serves as Notre Dame’s lead on the BioWorks Hub.

Chawla said, “We have an established track record for bringing the latest data science and AI techniques to advance innovations in biotechnology and biomanufacturing and benefit human health. We have also developed educational and training programming, including internship and experiential learning opportunities for our students, and workforce development. Contributing these strengths to the BioWorks effort is a way for us to ensure we are producing breakthroughs that create benefits for society.”

Other major Notre Dame contributors to BioWorks so far include Paul Bohn, the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and director of Notre Dame’s Bioengineering & Life Sciences (BELS) Initiative; Valya Kuskova, professor of the practice and associate director at the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society; and Gina Svarovsky, an associate professor of the practice and faculty director of Notre Dame’s Center for Broader Impacts.

Last October, Heartland BioWorks Hub was one of 31 regional hubs chosen for Tech Hub designation by the Department of Commerce. It is now one of 12 hubs chosen to split $500 million in funding that stems from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which was co-authored by Indiana’s U.S. Senator Todd Young.

Heartland BioWorks stated that the funding will support projects that are:

• Attracting and connecting workers, including those historically excluded from the innovation workforce, to good jobs;  

• Establishing a formal network to provide navigation resources, mentorship, and greater access to facilities and venture capital funding to help innovators successfully scale and launch their bioproducts in the region;  

• Constructing BioWorks HQ, a training and demonstration facility for trainees to enter the workforce and for current employees to upskill;  

• Implementing a grant program to help early-stage innovators surmount cost barriers to accessing these product development facilities, keeping biotech inventions and supply in the U.S.; and 

• Developing training pathways, leveraging curricula from Indiana’s higher education institutions and other globally recognized training programs to prepare participants for high-quality jobs in biomanufacturing operator and lab technician roles once the BioWorks HQ is constructed.

In addition to the University of Notre Dame, Heartland BioWorks members include Eli Lilly, Elanco, Corteva, INCOG, Roche, Indiana University, Purdue University, and Ivy Tech Community College. To learn more about Heartland BioWorks, visit pathfinder.theari.us/heartlandbioworks.

Contact: Brett Beasley / Writer and Editorial Program Manager

Notre Dame Research / University of Notre Dame

bbeasle1@nd.edu / +1 574-631-8183

research.nd.edu / @UNDResearch

About Notre Dame Research:

The University of Notre Dame is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Located in South Bend, Indiana, its researchers are advancing human understanding through research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to be a repository for knowledge and a powerful means for doing good in the world. For more information, please see research.nd.edu or @UNDResearch.