Local Foundation Community Supports Duquesne in Developing Public Bio Lab

The Fisher Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Grable Foundation, an Anonymous Donor and BMe Community are investing another $312,500 in educational program development and scholarships at The Citizen Science Lab—pushing the total of foundation-funded investments to $612,500 to leverage an asset for the entire community. In-kind contributions from the Hillman Foundation and another Anonymous Donor have added another $303,000.

Dr. Andre Samuel grabs the attention of students in a microscopy summer camp session.
Dr. Andre Samuel grabs the attention of students in a microscopy summer camp session.

The grants support the work of Dr. Alan Seadler, Fritzky Chair in Duquesne’s biotechnology program and associate provost for research and technology, and The Citizen Science Lab, a community life sciences laboratory launched in 2014 by Duquesne and economic development nonprofit Urban Innovation21.

The lab, located in the Energy Innovation Center at 1435 Bedford Ave. in the lower Hill District (the former Connelly Trade School), has scheduled weekend seminars for students since January and is offering weeklong summer camps through Friday, July 24. Adult training starts with a five-day session on the microscopic world of gardening on Monday, Aug. 17.

The Hillman Foundation donated 10 microscopes and a second Anonymous Donor contributed equipment and lab supplies. The most recent grant funding supports:

  • A community wet lab, a hands-on laboratory that can be explored by the public, from middle schoolers to their grandparents and other members of the community
  • Need-based student scholarships and an educational module teaching life sciences concepts
  • An educational module that will teach techniques used in genetic modifications; students will make mushrooms glow in the dark.

“These serious investments in Pittsburgh’s first community-based biotech lab illustrate these foundations’ continued interest in making a better Pittsburgh,” Seadler said. “They see the lab as bolstering Pittsburgh’s educational future by building life science skills in all young people, including those in disadvantaged communities. We want to create a bridge to the technology-based world, where more and more employment opportunities are developing.”

Exposing low-income students to advanced education and potential “new economy” careers and offering low-cost space to entrepreneurs for product development was important to the Anonymous Donor. The Grable Foundation was excited about the hands-on approach and cutting-edge tools available. The Buhl Foundation, a ground-level funder for the lab module, sees rich opportunities for the community and for private-public partnerships.

“It’s exciting that The Citizen Science Lab moves beyond engineering and math to biological and biotechnology areas, with implications for education, exploration and workforce development,” said Frederick W. Thieman, Buhl Foundation president.