The latest addition to ACC Highland brings much-need research space and learning opportunities for students.

More than 200 community members and friends joined Austin Community College January 31 to celebrate the grand opening of the ACC Bioscience Incubator.

The event featured a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, music, food, and tours with demonstrations inside the new start-of-the-art lab at ACC Highland.

See photos from the event below.

“This is a beautiful site to see,” said Tom Kowalski, president/CEO of the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute. “When products are discovered, and they are created and personalized, the ultimate benefactor is the patient — improving their quality of life and finding cures for diseases that we didn’t think we could find cures for 15 or 20 years ago.”

The 9,500-square-foot incubator — once four mall stores — provides much-needed space for Central Texas life science companies to develop products such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The facility includes specialized wet labs, clean rooms, conference space, and support offices. Labs are outfitted with $1.2 million of best-in-class instrumentation.

ACC President/CEO Dr. Richard Rhodes said the incubator, funded in part through a $4.9 million state grant, is an example of the college collaborating with public and private sector partners on behalf of its students and community.

“This is innovation at its best,” he said. “Together, we are transforming biotechnology, medicine, and education in our region. This is what ACC is all about.”

Incubator labs are outfitted with best-in-class instrumentation.

In addition to supporting emerging research and development, the incubator will provide valuable hands-on experiences for ACC Biotechnology students like Marcia McCallum, who shared her story of returning to school after raising children, taking a microbiology course, and discovering a new passion.

“I’ll have the opportunity to dive deep into the industry,” she said. “Future solutions are going to come from 10,000 square feet of just magic.”

The incubator is accepting lease applications. Interested companies can visit austincc.edu/wetlab and complete the online application.

The opening of the bioscience incubator marks the start of ACC Highland Phase 2 renovations.

See photos from the event:

Tags: ACC Highland, Bioscience Incubator, biotechnology, bond, bond projects, Highland Campus