Milwaukee Area Technical College has opened a biotechnology lab at its downtown Milwaukee campus, where students participating in the college’s new biotechnology laboratory technician program will train.

The $1.95 million facility spans 2,000 square feet on the 6th floor of MATC’s main building, located at 1015 N. 6th St. MATC hosted a grand opening for the space on Jan. 14.

The space and program were created in partnership with the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub.

In 2024, Wisconsin received $49 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to support the creation of a regional biohealth tech hub. Of that funding, MATC received $3.9 million to support the creation of its new biotech lab and program.

The funding has allowed MATC to create greater access for students looking for “high impact, high wage jobs that exist as biotech is growing exponentially within Wisconsin,” said Abigail Cannon, director of biohealth career pathways at MATC.

MATC’s biotech lab space includes five rooms, including one dedicated to using virtual reality and artificial intelligence. There is also a preparatory lab space that is “completely unique to MATC,” Cannon said.

“We actually have our students in this prep room prepping a lot of the materials and things that are going to be needed for their experiments,” Cannon said. “It’s something that we were really adamant that had to happen, so that our students really knew exactly what they were going to get into when they get into those contract research office roles, into the roles like at (Medical College of Wisconsin) and things like that for research.”

The new biotechnology laboratory technician program currently has 11 students, who will be trained “to work in labs on day one,” using industry standard equipment, said Sheldon Garrison, biotechnology program chair at MATC. The new program officially began with MATC’s first day of classes on Tuesday.

“I think the biotechnology program represents a new era, not just for MATC, but for technical colleges,” Garrison said. “We’re able to really work in this leading edge space in terms of biohealth. It is unique from a technical college standpoint, and it’s really opening up a lot of doors for some of the biohealth related companies that are around us.”

The program has been designed so that students can continue their education at a local four-year college, where they can continue focusing on medicine and research, Garrison said.

“We are sitting here creating jobs,” Cannon said. “We’re creating the ability for our students to make an impact on the economy of Wisconsin, of the greater Milwaukee area.”

Milwaukee Area Technical College’s new biotechnology lab space. Photo Credit: Milwaukee Area Technical College