FrameWORX News – BioCrossroads

Meeting the Moment: Elevating Indiana’s Life Sciences Leadership

Workforce development has paid dividends for Indiana’s life sciences sector. The Hoosier State leads the nation in both pharmaceutical and life sciences exports. The sector employs 70,000 Hoosiers across 3,200 establishments and contributes $99 billion to Indiana’s economy. And the average wage among life sciences professionals – $148,000 – is well ahead of the state’s average.

But when it comes to leadership, there’s no such thing as a finish line. To stay competitive with the likes of Boston and San Diego, workforce development remains a top priority for Indiana’s life sciences ecosystem.

And on June 12, leading professionals and recruiters met to exchange perspectives at the quarterly FrameWORX hosted by BioCrossroads.

Gone are the days when recruiting started in college and job training moved along slowly. Today, employers and employees alike are looking for dynamic, life-changing opportunities right out of the gate. In Indiana, industry visibility starts as early as middle school. Internships with substance and ongoing training and development for professionals are critical parts of the mix.

Zachary Haller, the practice lead who supports lab services and scientific solutions at Actalent, said drivers for people seeking new opportunities are clear.

“Not only is the labor market changing but so are the desires of candidates,” Haller told a capacity crowd at the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute at 16 Tech. “People want to work in meaningful jobs. They don’t want to just work or just get a paycheck. And people want a personalized plan. Not a lot of people are getting those experiences.”

To keep pace, Indiana is looking at next-level platforms. Indiana’s designation as a tech hub means BioTrain will produce job-ready professionals who want careers in biomanufacturing. BioTrain is part of the Heartland BioWorks Tech Hub, a $51 million initiative supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and spearheaded by the Applied Research Institute (ARI) in collaboration with Purdue University, Ivy Tech Community College, and BioCrossroads. BioTrain will address the projected labor shortage in Indiana’s biotech industry.

Indiana also is adopting the Swiss apprenticeship model to enhance career readiness among high school students, particularly in the life sciences sector – part of a broader effort to provide students with practical, paid work experiences alongside their education.

“Life sciences and health care often have synergies with people moving back and forth between the sectors,” said Vince Wong, president and CEO of BioCrossroads. “We have strategies at different levels: for K-12, for college, and for those already working in the industry. We are developing strategies for all groups to meet people where they are.”

workforce resources

Meet the partners powering Indiana’s life sciences and healthcare workforce

The employers, educators, and organizations featured here are building real pipelines, aligning training with industry demand, creating new pathways into scientific and clinical roles, and helping employers attract and grow the teams they need to compete. Each one offers practical tools, proven approaches, and direct ways to support your talent strategy.

Actalent

Data-driven talent solutions across scientific and clinical roles

Actalent partners with companies to deliver customized workforce solutions, with deep expertise in clinical, scientific, and engineering roles. Their data-informed approach helps employers stay agile in a competitive talent market.
www.actalentservices.com

Ascend Indiana

Matching talent to high-demand roles with personalized career navigation

Ascend Indiana connects employers with qualified talent through a unique blend of one-on-one career guidance and tech-enabled matching tools. Their employer partnerships help streamline hiring pipelines while opening doors to high-demand jobs for Indiana residents.
www.ascendindiana.com

IBRI Internship Program

Hands-on experience in translational research

The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) offers a competitive internship program that provides early-career scientists with exposure to applied, translational research in a collaborative environment. The program supports both student development and employer workforce needs through mentorship and meaningful lab experiences.
www.indianabiosciences.org

IU Health

Creating upward mobility through continuous education
As one of the state’s largest healthcare employers, IU Health invests in its people. Their career development initiatives—from tuition support to pathway programs—help employees build long-term careers while staying responsive to workforce needs across the system.
www.iuhealth.org

Ivy Tech Community College

Industry-aligned training and credentialing programs
With campuses across Indiana, Ivy Tech offers accessible, flexible training that is closely aligned with employer needs—whether it’s credentials in biotech manufacturing, clinical support, or quality systems. Their programs help both new entrants and current employees build in-demand skills.
www.ivytech.edu

Discover more career-focused resources in the BioCrossroads Career Hub

FrameWORX: Translating Research into Marketable Solutions

Collaboration often is the key to success in business. And when it comes to life sciences, you can double down. Numerous functions and areas of expertise are needed to transform an idea into reality, and we learned more about Indiana’s ability to partner our way to life sciences leadership at our latest FrameWORX on March 13.

First, some context: Indiana has been a life sciences leader for decades. Eli Lilly and Company was founded in 1876 and for decades ushered through innovations that address diabetes, depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, obesity, and other challenging conditions.

Today, Indiana leads the U.S. in pharmaceutical exports and we’re No. 2 in life sciences exports. Our life sciences industry contributes $95 billion toward the Hoosier State’s economy and Indiana ranks among the top 5 states in life sciences employment.

Unleashing innovation is leading to strong growth – and commercializing scientific opportunities is paramount to achieving next-generation success. But going it alone – regardless of your size, strength, or location – is rarely optimal in the life sciences. Leaders from academia and industry alike talked about leveraging the newest opportunities before a capacity FrameWORX crowd at 16 Tech.

Critical to Indiana’s growth opportunities are organizations and resources that facilitate success. BioCrossroads has been around for more than two decades and has supported much of Indiana’s recent growth by facilitating funding and collaboration that fuel our state’s work.

We kicked off the event with a candid conversation about innovation and entrepreneurship in Indiana’s life sciences sector. Moderated by BioCrossroads’ Chief Innovation Officer Mike Bolinder, the panel featured Diana Caldwell of Amplified Sciences, Richard Church of Parkview Health, and Derek Small of Luson Bioventures. Each brought a unique perspective—startup founder, health system leader, and investor—but all emphasized the same truth: bringing a breakthrough to market takes more than a good idea. It takes a strong network, trusted partnerships, and an ecosystem that understands both the science and the business behind innovation. From early lessons learned to the value of local collaborations, the discussion offered a powerful reminder of why Indiana continues to be a launchpad for life sciences success.

Key leaders coming from academia joined the conversation including David Rosenberg, president and CEO of IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences or IU LAB, David Umulis, senior vice provost for Purdue University in Indianapolis and director of the EMBRIO Institute, and Paul Bohn, director of the Bioengineering and Life Sciences (BELS) Initiative at the University of Notre Dame. We also heard from Alan Palkowitz, president and CEO of the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, who underscored the importance of moving quickly in today’s competitive environment.

“We need to invest and move quickly,” he said “We need to move forward with detail, with robust data, and reveal gaps that need to be filled. We also need to ask ourselves: what is the best quality product to move forward?”

Hoosier companies and innovators have important resources at their fingertips. Collectively, we find ways to turn ideas into innovation … and turn innovation into commercial success. We’ll be talking more about these organizations and how they support Hoosier innovators in the months ahead.

2025 FrameWORX Series: Driving Indiana’s Life Sciences Forward

For more than two decades, BioCrossroads has brought together Indiana’s life sciences community—fueling collaboration, innovation, and industry growth. This year, we’re excited to unveil the 2025 FrameWORX series: a platform to ignite dialogue and discover solutions for the next generation of life sciences. From accelerating research commercialization to supporting specialized areas like orthopedics and nuclear medicine, FrameWORX is designed to bring diverse stakeholders—entrepreneurs, researchers, educators, and policymakers—into the same room to tackle emerging challenges and opportunities head-on.

March 13: Innovation and Industry Growth – Translating Research into Marketable Solutions

Great science is only the first step. Converting groundbreaking discoveries into practical applications requires strong networks, targeted resources, and a supportive ecosystem. This session will explore how to effectively move ideas from the lab to the marketplace—highlighting the role Indiana plays in fostering entrepreneurship and industry growth.

June 12: Workforce Resilience in Life Sciences – Retaining Top Talent in a Competitive Market

A skilled and adaptable workforce is essential to maintaining Indiana’s leadership in life sciences. This discussion will focus on workforce development efforts, innovative training models, and strategies for attracting and retaining top talent. In an increasingly competitive environment, resilient and well-prepared professionals are more important than ever.

August 20: Warsaw/Orthopedic Capital of the World

Indiana’s orthopedic sector is a global leader in musculoskeletal innovation and medical device manufacturing. Hosted in Warsaw—often referred to as the “Orthopedic Capital of the World”—this session will showcase advancements in orthopedics, while examining how continued investment, cutting-edge research, and strategic collaboration are shaping the future of this vital sector.

Registration will open soon for August FrameWORX

December 4: Nuclear Medicine Manufacturing and Our Growing Opportunities

As nuclear medicine continues to advance, Indiana has an opportunity to further establish itself as a leader in this high-growth sector. This session will delve into the state’s expanding role in manufacturing, research, and workforce development to meet the growing demand for radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine technologies.

As we look ahead to 2025, we invite you to make your voice heard. FrameWORX is more than a series of events; it’s an open forum where ideas turn into plans and plans turn into action.

Join us throughout the year for these dynamic sessions, connect with peers, and help shape the future of Indiana’s life sciences sector.

We can’t wait to see you there!