The BioBuilder Educational Foundation, a Boston-based nonprofit that brings hands-on biotechnology education to students nationwide, today announced it has been awarded a $1,000,000 “Gamechanger” grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), the state’s economic development agency for the life sciences. The award is part of $12.3 million in funding announced by the Healey-Driscoll Administration and MLSC through the MLSC’s Education and Workforce Development Grant Program, which is supporting 68 awards to public schools, colleges, and nonprofit organizations across the Commonwealth
Massachusetts is projected to add nearly 14,000 life sciences jobs by 2030, increasing demand for workers with practical laboratory skills that can be developed long before they enter college or the workforce. BioBuilder’s collaboration with Transfyr, a Boston-based AI and life science technology company, is designed to expand access to that preparation by pairing BioBuilder’s hands-on biotechnology curriculum with real-time AI coaching, helping students build essential laboratory skills wherever they attend school.
“Science has always been taught through apprenticeship: see one, do one, teach one. Our goal is to preserve that model while extending it through AI, effectively enabling ‘see one, do one, teach one’ at scale, so every student can receive the kind of individualized coaching that was once available to only a fortune few,” said Natalie Kuldell, Founder and Executive Director of the BioBuilder Educational Foundation. “We’re grateful to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for investing in a future where authentic science is within reach for every learner.”
The grant will enable BioBuilder to develop and deploy an AI-enabled training and credentialing system that brings apprenticeship-quality laboratory instruction into high school classrooms. Across the country, students are eager to engage in authentic science but too often lack access to laboratories, experienced mentors, or timely feedback on the hands-on skills that biotechnology demands. The new system will observe, assess, and coach students in real time on core laboratory techniques including pipetting precision and aseptic technique, providing objective, individualized feedback as students build toward industry-recognized biotechnology credentials.
“For over a decade, BioBuilder and the MLSC have partnered closely to create access and opportunity for students in Massachusetts to gain the skills and exposure needed to pursue a career in the life sciences,” said Ryan Mudawar, MLSC EVP of Educational Partnerships and Workforce Investments. “This new grant builds on that partnership by enabling BioBuilder to integrate AI and automation into its training and scale across the Commonwealth.”
The initiative will launch with a pilot cohort of approximately 850 students across BioBuilder’s existing Massachusetts programs, including BioBuilderClubs, its Apprenticeship and Summer Research programs, and classroom pilots, with priority given to schools and communities historically underrepresented in the life sciences, including Gateway Cities and Title I districts. Because biology is a graduation requirement in Massachusetts, BioBuilder sees a long-term path to embedding this AI-supported instruction within required coursework statewide, a potential reach of approximately 70,000 students annually.
“We’re living in a moment in time where novel ideas in biology are abundant. The question now is whether we can build the capacity to turn that possibility into real-world impact,” said Anna Marie Wagner, co-founder and CEO of Transfyr. “Today, too much talent gets left behind because expert coaching and hands-on training are scarce. Technology gives us the potential to scale personalized training and credentialing, which has enormous implications for economic competitiveness.”
This program builds on a research base showing that hands-on, apprenticeship-style science instruction increases students’ confidence and persistence in STEM fields. By pairing that model with real-time AI coaching, BioBuilder aims to make rigorous, credential-aligned biotechnology training accessible to students regardless of geography or their school’s existing resources.
About BioBuilder
Created by an award-winning team from MIT, BioBuilder is a national nonprofit helping educate a future-ready workforce that will solve some of the world’s greatest challenges by bringing tomorrow’s science into today’s classrooms. Since its founding in 2011, BioBuilder has worked with schools in over 87 countries and 50 states, impacting over 94,000 students to better match the skills of our future workforce to the needs of the life sciences industry. BioBuilder is pioneering modern STEM education tailored to high school students across urban, rural, and underserved communities. It delivers this through experiential learning opportunities in the classroom, after school, and through professionally equipped Learning Labs that welcome students, teachers, professionals, and the local communities. For more information about BioBuilder, visit www.biobuilder.org.
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