Leading the way for higher education, workforce development, and research in Rhode Island

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The Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island is the centerpiece of a statewide effort to build a new, knowledge-based economy for Rhode Island—one as successful as the industrial revolution that began in 1793 at the Slater Mill, but geared for the 21st century.

The Center will anchor the North District of URI’s Kingston campus. In the future, the North District will also be home to new buildings for pharmacy, nursing, and chemistry, as well as URI’s Technology Park. Collectively, this development will make URI a national leader in the life and health sciences and an engine of economic development for Rhode Island.

Scientists housed in the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences will be engaged in important basic and applied research aimed at making Rhode island and the nation a healthier, safer, and more prosperous place to live. URI scientists are working to understand the biochemical and molecular basis for cancer and other diseases; seeking ways to prevent food contamination and improve food security; identifying biotechnological solutions to Lyme disease, eastern equine encephalitis, and other insect-borne illnesses; protecting and preserving the quality of Narragansett Bay; and developing the next generation of biofuels to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The Center will also be the home of state-of-the-art teaching laboratories and classrooms for training the next generation of Rhode Islanders to be the life scientists, entrepreneurs, nurses, pharmacists, and biomanufacturing workforce for our new economy.