By definition incubators foster growth, and that’s what officials at UC Riverside hope its newest scientific project will do.
The school’s Wet Lab Incubator opened its doors to the Inland Empire’s entrepreneurial community at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 21. The 3,000-square-foot facility, the first of its kind in the region, will be available for local residents and companies looking to foster new developments in the life sciences, agriculture, biotech and medical technology fields.
The lab, located in UC Riverside’s Multidisciplinary Research Building, was created with a goal of creating more high-paying jobs in the region.
It will accommodate 15 startups. At the opening ceremony, Jay Goth, founder and CEO of Murrieta Genomics, signed a lease to become the first tenant. According to a UC Riverside statement, 12 companies have already expressed interest in doing research at the lab.
In addition to using the lab’s workspaces and its state-of-the-art equipment, tenants will have access to other scientific facilities on the campus and can interact with faculty members.
Mentoring and access to capital for these efforts come from the UC Riverside Entrepreneurial Proof of Concept and Innovation Center Small Business Development Center. The lab was funded by federal and state grants, as well as from internal funds from the university.
Source: Status Update: UCR ‘wet lab’ opens for startups and local entrepreneurs – Press Enterprise
