Community BioLab opens in downtown Roanoke

Morgan Huff said the venue will be called a “community biolab” and will offer membership to interested members of the public who want to practice synthetic biology.

Mr. Huff lives in San Francisco but is a Roanoke native and expressed a desire to help grow Roanoke's technology sector.he bought the former Tudor's Biscuit World He wanted the science venue to be downtown, so he built the science venue on April 9th.

“Right now, Roanoke is a true medical city, and I think where we're going to see a lot of growth over the next 20 years is going to be in synthetic biology and precision medicine and the tools that are being used.” Because it's a little complicated…but , Roanoke will be in a very good position as a leader in that area,” he said.

They are considering setting it up as a maker space, shop, or studio that will provide a shared work space for members. Members typically pay a fee and have access to specialized equipment to perform work, work on personal projects, or learn new skills.

Getting the venue at 23 Church Ave. SW ready for high-tech will require extensive construction. Huff is already working with colleagues in San Francisco, and he said he hopes to connect with like-minded people in Roanoke once he gets started. “I definitely gained skills and experience. I kind of understand what the community is looking for,” he said.

Gavin Hollingsworth, an associate broker at , said he paid $950,000 for the two-story building. hall associates I am the seller's agent. The restaurant closed in 2012.

Huff will use proceeds from the 2021 sale of Medical Facilities of America, a Roanoke County-based nursing home chain whose previous owners included Huff and his family. He said he did. He said he plans to seek grants for improvements and equipment.

His background is in neuroscience, specifically the use of regenerative medicine to address brain disorders. He published his research. In a joint project, he Massachusetts Institute of Technology through Celsiusa San Francisco organization that provides open access biotechnology education.

Synthetic biology and bioengineering are fields powered by unprecedented advances in data and machine learning, Hough said. “It's still early days, but I think we can all see where the real insights will occur,” he said.