EDC and Amgen Foundation Announce Local Grants to Provide Students with Science Lab Experience

WALTHAM, MA | Eleven communities will receive $4 million in grants to boost their biology education thanks to the Amgen Foundation’s Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE), an innovative science education program managed by EDC. The new grants will help provide secondary school students with real-world biotech lab experiences. ABE brings lab experience to students in classrooms across the United States, including Puerto Rico; the United Kingdom; and Ireland. The new investment is expected to reach 150,000 new students over the next two years.

EDC serves as the administrative home for ABE, which provides science teachers with a loaned kit of research-grade equipment and supplies for doing advanced science laboratories. EDC supports program sites and teachers, working alongside the Amgen Foundation to advance the ABE program. With EDC’s support, 72,000 students participated in the ABE labs this past year.

“We’re so pleased about ABE’s continued growth,” said David Offensend, EDC president and CEO. “This program gives students a real-world, hands-on lab experience that introduces them to the excitement of biotechnology and scientific discovery.”

Since the program’s inception in 1990, ABE has reached over 425,000 students. Today’s announcement brings the total investment in the program to more than $13 million.

“We are very excited to extend our commitment to the Amgen Biotech Experience, a program that began 25 years ago, with the intent to ignite a deep passion for innovation and scientific discovery in students,” said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer of Amgen. “This program, which provides advanced biotech curriculum and professional-grade lab equipment at no cost to schools, has opened countless students’ eyes to the world of biotechnology, fueling potential long term advancements to both medicine and society.”

Visit www.amgenbiotechexperience.com to learn more about ABE, and watch this short video to hear what teachers and students are saying about the program.

EDC designs, implements, and evaluates programs to improve education, health, and economic opportunity worldwide. Visit www.edc.org.