Emerging Biotechnologies, Workforce Development in California Powering the Next Wave of Innovation and Security

In the birthplace of modern biotechnology, national and regional initiatives are priming innovators to make the next great leaps in this sector.

4, December 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Berkeley, California – Today, NSCEB Commissioners continued the Biotech Across America Roadshow for a second day of events in California. Vice Chair Michelle Rozo and Commissioners Paul Arcangeli and Dov Zakheim joined innovation leaders, industry representatives, and investors in Berkeley. They led discussions on workforce development and industry investment and toured cutting-edge facilities cultivating the advanced emerging biotechnologies that will shape tomorrow’s industry.

“Berkeley and the Bay Area continue to be a key nexus of biotechnology innovation, investment, and scale up,” said NSCEB Vice Chair Michelle Rozo. “Today’s discussions provided a valuable opportunity to meet with the individuals creating and funding the next generation of biotech breakthroughs and learn firsthand about the headwinds facing the industry today.”

“Our National Labs are a remarkable innovation asset,” said NSCEB Commissioner Paul Arcangeli. “Today at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, we saw how biotech is being used to develop new aviation fuels, which could impact our national readiness and improve the way our military deploys warfighters. Through the NSCEB’s proposed Centers of Excellence in Biotechnology at the National Labs, we can galvanize public private partnerships to stimulate further innovation in the national interest.”

“Biotechnology is unassailably part of our national security industrial base,” said NSCEB Commissioner Dov Zakheim. “From lab to market, we need our innovators and investors working in alignment with the U.S. government to retain, and in some cases regain, our global leadership edge in this critical technology.”

“We were pleased to host members of the NSCEB and industry leaders, giving our scientists and engineers the opportunity to share their latest innovations and future directions, as well as Berkeley Lab’s efforts to mentor the future leaders in the field of biotechnology,” said Paul Adams, Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “Together with industry we are working to advance U.S. leadership in biotechnology, helping secure our supply chain and create generational jobs across the country.”

“We’re proud to host the NSCEB roadshow”, said David Schaffer, Director of Bakar Labs and UC Berkeley professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. “Many new medicines are developed by startups that are later acquired by pharma, but scientific entrepreneurs first need funding to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and clinical success. We’re doing all we can to connect investors to our Bakar Labs company founders, who in addition to advancing important new technologies are creating positive economic impact by creating over 450 high-value jobs in the past four years.”

Event details:

At Berkeley Lab, Commissioners opened the day with two roundtable discussions. In the first, they engaged with leaders from Bay Area biotech start-ups to discuss how the local ecosystem is adapting to challenges and embracing growth to bring new ideas to life. The second roundtable focused on expanding the region’s workforce through the Introductory College Level Experience in Microbiology (iCLEM) program. iCLEM provides an educational opportunity to underserved youth in the Bay Area by offering hands-on experience with basic science and research.

Commissioners ended the day at Berkeley Lab with a tour of three facilities, the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU), the Agile BioFoundry (ABF), and the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). These facilities are driving innovation in biomanufacturing and advancing novel uses for emerging biotechnologies across industries.

To close out this stop on the NSCEB’s Biotech Across America Roadshow, Commissioners visited Bakar Labs, an incubator for life science start-ups. There, they joined a roundtable discussion with biotech investors to gain a deeper understanding of the investment landscape and learn how investors are thinking about venture capital in the context of competition with China.

Event participants included:

8VC
Amyris
Bakar Labs
BEVC
Checkerspot
E11 Bio
EcoR1
Hyfé
Industrial Microbes
Khosla Ventures
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Mango Materials
Office of U.S. Representative John Garamendi
Office of U.S. Representative Ro Khanna
Office of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla
Pow Bio
ResVita Bio
SOSV
Zymochem

Biotech Across America Roadshow: The Commission is hitting the road to highlight biotechnology across America, including the companies, academic institutions, workforce development programs, and policy initiatives that are driving the future for this rapidly growing industry. Commissioners will continue learning about the work being done across this vibrant ecosystem while engaging on the key findings and recommendations from the Commission’s recent report to Congress.

About NSCEB: The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology is a time-limited, high-impact legislative branch advisory entity whose purpose is to advance and secure biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and associated technologies for U.S. national security and to prepare the United States for the bioindustrial revolution. The Commission published a comprehensive report in April 2025, including recommendations for action by Congress and the federal government. The bipartisan Commission is composed of Congressionally-appointed Commissioners with members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as experts from industry, academia, and government. For more information about the Commission and to view the report, visit: biotech.senate.gov.

Contacts:

NSCEB: press@biotech.senate.gov