What is a research hub? It’s a term that’s rising in prominence among scientific communities, but lacks clarity–and possibly relevance–to the average person.
Discover what research hubs are and why you should care about them. Plus, learn about the research hub growing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
What is a research hub?
In the simplest sense, a research hub is a collection of groups from varying organizations–often in science or technology–that work in the same research sector in the same location, either physically or virtually.
In life sciences, a research hub is often a cluster of scientists, startups, larger companies, academic organizations, and healthcare systems conducting research into a particular area. This can be a larger field like pharmaceuticals or medical devices or more specific areas like aging or cancer.
Some research hubs develop organically, while others are intentional–part of a larger plan by an academic institution or even a city or a combination of groups to bring like-minded entities together to accelerate research. Regardless of how they originate, research hubs are more than a single company, corporation, or institution. They are true collections of similarly-oriented, but separate groups.
The participants of a research hub share a goal, not just a space. They are invested in advancing science in their particular area and are willing to collaborate to move their research forward, as well as the research of others.
What is the importance of a research hub?
Research can take a long time to make it from the lab or a journal article to application and use in the real world and usually requires different groups of people to pick the idea up along the way.
There are a myriad of challenges for research to reach the light of day:
- New innovation is a risky business that doesn’t always pay off. Funding is increasingly hard to find and the competition for research funds is fierce.
- Resources are limited. The tools researchers need are often expensive, and if the innovator doesn’t immediately have access to the right equipment, it can be hard to find places that offer access to those tools.
- Solutions don’t always exist. Pioneering research often hits roadblocks for which no solutions exist–yet–which can require more funding and more groups of people to jump on board to push the research forward.
Research hubs can help with some of the challenges that researchers face. By working side-by-side with others in their fields, researchers can expand their knowledge of what’s possible, discover or even share what research tools are available, and meet people who have more experience with a particular tool or solution.
By pooling knowledge and resources, research can be accelerated, cutting down some of the time between idea and application in a way that’s valuable for companies and the public alike.
What are the characteristics of a research hub?
While there’s no cut-and-dried requirements for what makes a research hub, these hubs tend to share certain characteristics.
Shared Vision
In addition to having a shared research area, the researchers and companies who comprise a hub tend to have a shared vision for that research. That may take the form of a passion for ending a certain disease–like Parkinson’s–or the goal of making innovations more accessible to the general public.
Shared Location
Research hubs need a place for participants to congregate. Some research hubs are virtual, a platform where data or knowledge can be pooled, while others are located in a physical space–a building or region where participants can interact and share expertise and equipment.
Intentional Collaboration
By locating within a research hub, companies and individuals are signalling their willingness to collaborate. Hubs tend to attract entities that are open to opportunities, whether that means a meeting just to get to know about each other’s work or a formal partnership on a project.
Resources and Support
Particularly when research hubs are intentional, there’s usually an effort to provide resources and support that can help research succeed. That may mean resources like specialized equipment or mentorship, or it could be support in the form of reduced rent or business services.
Research hubs also have a tendency to draw associated companies, who may not be conducting research into that particular area, but rather have services and products that are of interest to participants, like IT services or raw materials. Having associated companies in one place not only makes it more efficient for existing companies to run their businesses, but it also eases the burden of transforming new innovations into startups that can commercialize new scientific discoveries.
What research hub is in Winston-Salem?
Winston-Salem is home to a growing research hub in regenerative medicine, located in the Innovation Quarter (iQ), an innovation district emerging out of the city’s former tobacco district.
From inception, the iQ hoped to attract companies in science and technology sectors, and it has continued to become a place where life science companies put down roots and flourish. The life sciences companies in the iQ research a variety of areas, including medical device development, clinical trials, research tools, additive medical manufacturing, and more, as well as a wide range of medical specialities.
Additionally, the iQ recently became a locus for a hub in regenerative medicine–the Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine (PTRME)–which was funded by a first-of-its-kind grant from the National Science Foundation. The PTRME is an initiative to strengthen regenerative medicine research and development by providing resources, expertise, and collaboration across the Piedmont Triad and an acknowledgement of what was already growing in the region in terms of cutting-edge research in regenerative medicine. Through the engine, the hub hopes to speed up the adoption of regenerative medicine discoveries into healthcare applications.
The roots of the regenerative medicine hub trace back to 2004, when Anthony Atala, MD, joined what was then Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (now Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist). In addition to his clinical role, he founded the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), a part of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, located in the iQ, where Atala is a faculty member and senior scientist.
Atala developed a strong institute of more than 400 staff and researchers at the forefront of regenerative medicine innovation, including being the first to implant a lab-grown organ into a human being. WFIRM’s location in the iQ has attracted numerous associated organizations, startups, and researchers, blossoming into a community of collaboration and growth.
What resources are available to Winston-Salem’s research hub and larger life science community?
There are a number of resources in the iQ that promote a growing life sciences sector–from business support to specialized research equipment.
Business-Building Resources
Winston-Salem is home to a number of groups working to create a supportive environment for businesses of all kinds. Organizations like Greater Winston-Salem, Inc and Vision to Venture are creating connectivity throughout the ecosystem to promote businesses–no matter their industry. Other entities, like the Forsyth Works program, are promoting workforce development in concert with local academic institutions to power all kinds of research-based work.
Business-Support Services
In addition to business resources, the iQ is attracting companies whose missions are aimed at supporting life sciences companies. Companies with expertise in providing services to life science companies—companies like InfoPathways, an IT services company specializing in life science industries, CLA, an accounting firm with healthcare expertise, and RICOH 3D for Healthcare, a 3D printing lab for human body models—are also building presences in the innovation district to support regenerative medicine and beyond.
Research Hub Partners
Other organizations are providing specialized services and resources in the iQ to help build a regenerative medicine research hub. Some, like Sparq Labs, offer affordable lab space, while the RegenMed Development Organization (ReMDO) creates initiatives like the RegeneratOR Test Bed to provide access to research equipment that can help businesses create a prototype of their product, with little cost.
All these entities–and many more like them–are part of the larger mission to get discoveries made in regenerative medicine closer to impacting the lives of people across the country.
Discover more about what it means to be a research hub.
Part of what makes the iQ an innovation district is the range of life sciences research that happens here. As the iQ continues to grow, there continue to be other life science sectors that are beginning to cluster and may turn out more research hubs in the future.
If you’re still curious about what a research hub is and the kinds of companies that create a hub, keep digging. You can learn more about:
- The types of companies that are participating in the research hub located here
- The emerging field of regenerative medicine
- The other business resources in the iQ that help organizations grow
Stay tuned for more information about how the innovation district is helping to grow a regional research hub and for more announcements about its next phase of development.
