Life sciences, bioengineering, and the City of Lynn, aren’t phrases commonly used in the same sentence, but Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson explained how these industries can become a foundation for employment and business growth in the city.
Nicholson, on Monday, announced the City of Lynn’s partnership with BioConnect New England (Item, Feb. 22), a multi-state coalition of universities, organizations and cities aiming to expand biomanufacturing job, research, and development opportunities throughout New England.
Lumped under the umbrella label of biotech, life sciences and bioengineering involve science specializing in organisms and cells with the aim of developing products in industries like health care.
A good example of the biotech industry’s growth potential is Tuesday’s announcement that pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly plans to invest $700 million in genetic medicine in Boston.
Nicholson thinks biotech can grow jobs and businesses in Lynn. He wants to harness the talents of local agencies, academic institutions and other resources to make that vision a reality.
In his announcement, he mentioned North Shore Community College as a collaborator. We think Salem State University’s Enterprise Center and MassHire North Shore Workforce can be added to that collaboration list.
Both institutions are job-creating and business-development powerhouses with a strong understanding of the North Shore’s economy. Nicholson’s background as a Northeastern University law professor means he is comfortable moving in academic circles and making connections.
BioConnect’s executive director is Northeastern Professor Jared Auclair who said BioConnect “aims to serve as a platform to showcase Lynn’s assets to the broader life-sciences community throughout New England.”
“We look forward to working with the city’s strong leadership and planning teams to ensure this partnership’s success,” he added.
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about life sciences taking root in Lynn’s economy. The collaboration announcement comes a week after Nicholson vowed to concentrate the city’s top planning officials in a Lynn development team charged with developer-project proposals.
Lynn Tech is well-positioned to be a job-training contributor to life sciences thanks to a $2-million state grant that was paired in 2019 with $2.5 million from the GE Foundation. Vocational education, as Lynn Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler will quickly tell you, is a training ground for the jobs of the future.
Nicholson has promised community-level engagement opportunities for public discussion on life-sciences potential in Lynn. We look forward to those discussions and the ideas that spring from them.
