Staff, local dignitaries, students and friends of Memphis Bioworks Foundation celebrated a successful 2009 with a holiday open house on December 10, featuring tours of 20 South Dudley and a performance by the MASE choir.

Memphis Bioworks Foundation – A Year in Review

2009 was a productive year for Memphis Bioworks Foundation in all three areas of emphasis – infrastructure, education and entrepreneurship. Here are just a few of milestones achieved in meeting its goals of economic development and job creation in the Bioscience sector:

February:

TECworks launched as a value-added coaching and mentoring service with Jan Bouten as Executive Director.

March:

6,000 square feet of laboratory space for entrepreneurs opened in the 20 South Dudley Building on the UT-Baptist Research Park Campus.

April:

AgBioworks established the 25 Farmer Network to grow new crops, participate in value-added processing, and partner with companies producing biofuels and biobased products across 21 counties in West Tennessee.

July:

Harold Wingood named as Executive Director of MASE. The school was also recognized by the State for its 100% graduation rate.

July:

Progress continued at the UT-Baptist Research Park with a ribbon cutting on the Regional Biocontainment Lab. The final-phase of construction of the UTHSC School of Pharmacy continued with the facility scheduled to open in fall 2010.

August:

AgBioworks completed a groundbreaking study for the Delta region for job creation in the new bio-economy through biomass and bio-based production.

September:

As part of the goal to improve the streetscape in the area, the Memphis Medical Center Board selected Poplar Ave. (Decatur to Dunlap) as the first project area.

October:

Memphis Bioworks Foundation secured New Markets Tax Credits for $30 million in partnership with the City of Memphis.

November:

Innova was awarded TNInvestco status enabling the creation of Innova II Fund through $20M in insurance tax credits issued by the State of Tennessee for early-stage capital investments.

December:

Memphis Bioworks Business Association (MBBA) completed its first year of operations. Regina Whitley joined the organization as Executive Director.