Lessons from Boston Life Science Cluster
By Stephanie Oestreich
Boston has a unique combination of universities, hospitals, venture capitalists, startup companies, experienced operating personnel and large pharma and biotech companies, that makes it the world’s premier life science cluster. Other geographies can benefit from its features, in particular in research and translational aspects:
Research:
Academia: Principal Investigators engage in regular discussions with their students since quality of teaching is being evaluated. Many laboratories in the US publish a number of papers and in high-impact journals. Despite the recent discussion on affirmative action, US laboratories feature many international students – due to the high quality of the research and the English language. In the US, students very early on also learn to write and present their research fluently. Admissions committees also take not only past achievements into account but also assess learning agility.
Many academic laboratories have collaborations with the private sector and therefore build relationships that benefit research because of, for example, data availability, but also that might benefit their students for future employment opportunities.
Funding: Funding is relatively abundant for US research. The 2023 NIH budget is $47.5 billion, the National Science Foundation (NSF) also funds smaller research and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is supporting established researchers. Philanthropy is also more widespread in the US (for example, the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard).
US universities also exhibit very thorough branding, marketing, and alumni relations with which they augment their funding and enhance their community.
Studying in the US can cost as much as $80,000 per year, leaving some students in debt for years, but motivating them highly to provide their best efforts in their studies.
Processes: Necessary procedures (like ethics approval for animal studies) are being conducted efficiently at US universities. Academic and geographic flexibility is high at US universities like Harvard and Stanford where doctoral students conduct rotations between different laboratories before choosing the laboratory where they conduct their PhD.
Translational Science:
Technology Transfer: Technology Transfer has developed significantly at US universities. With their mandate to translate basic science into benefits for society, these offices have become more and more sophisticated, and some generate significant income for their universities.
There are also a number of initiatives, such as the Blavatnik Fund at Harvard and Yale or LaunchPad at Stanford, that support the translation of scientific ideas into startup companies that can then be funded by investors.
Cross-functional collaborations are also wide-spread in the US. One such example is the collaboration between biology and engineering at the Wyss Institute at Harvard.
Collaborations: Collaborations between science in the academic and public sector is widespread in the US and there are many entrepreneurial role models. Several credible academics have founded a number of successful startups (e.g. Robert Langer, a professor at MIT, is one of the co-founders of Moderna).
Risk: In the US however, it is well known that 90% of startups fail, but the experience that executives gather during their time is well regarded, nevertheless.
In summary, other life-science areas can benefit from the lessons drawn from the Boston life science cluster. They could also attract international researchers by emulating Boston by providing additional funding for research, facilitating translational efforts and providing (tax) incentives for startups.