Founding Sponsors
The MGE Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), is a proud supporter of Forward BIOLABS at University Research Park (URP), where the MGE Innovation Center has been located since 1989. MGE appreciates the opportunity to work together with Forward BIOLABS and our longtime partner, URP, to welcome another innovation space to the park where our area's talented minds will be able to nurture their vision into potentially industry changing realities. Forward BIOLABS is an asset to our community, to our entrepreneurs and to our local economy.
Promega is a global biotech company in Madison, WI providing reagents, assays, benchtop instruments and technical support to the life sciences industry. Over the years in supporting co-working labs across the country, we continue to be inspired by new discovery. As a founding sponsor of Forward BioLabs, we can’t wait to see what new inventions will evolve to support a stronger future for all of us.
University Research Park, a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, is a proud founding sponsor of Forward BioLabs. University Research Park creates environments where research, science, and technology can flourish. It is home to more than 125 companies that employ more than 4,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, and other professionals. Forward BIOLABS fills a vital gap in the Wisconsin ecosystem and will enable more faculty members, students, and community entrepreneurs to launch new ventures in cutting-edge areas.
In support of its mission to support scientific research within the UW-Madison community, WARF is proud to be a founding supporter of Forward BioLabs. Founded in 1925 as an independent, nonprofit foundation, WARF manages more than 2,000 patents and an investment portfolio as it funds university research, obtains patents for campus discoveries and licenses inventions to industry. For more information, visit warf.org and view WARF’s Cycle of Innovation.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is dedicated to driving economic prosperity across Wisconsin. Working with hundreds of partners across the state, we are supporting startup businesses, advancing industry innovation, and developing a talented workforce to help Wisconsin realize its full economic potential. Forward Biolabs is a shining example of how to leverage strong partnerships and common goals that lead to future success.
Platinum Sponsors
Advocate Aurora Research Institute is a not-for-profit affiliate of Advocate Aurora Health. Advocate Aurora is one of the top 12 not-for-profit health systems in the country and the largest health care provider in Wisconsin. The Research Institute unifies the innovative research efforts throughout the health system to improve options and outcomes that change not only the lives of individuals, but also transform the health of populations.
Capabilities available include: Biorepository and Specimen Resources Core, laboratory services (e.g., fluorescence and time-lapsed microscopy, multicolor flow cytometry, and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry), support for custom projects (e.g., biomarker analysis, histology and cytology staining), and vivarium services (including xenograft study support; MRI, X-ray and luminescence animal imaging; and PK/TK testing).
Findorff is proud to support the next generation of emerging companies that call the University Research Park (URP) home, as they advance and perfect their technologies of tomorrow. As a trusted partner of URP since 1986, Findorff has contributed end-to-end support through facility planning, real estate acquisition, design consultation and construction expertise. Findorff is a leader in delivering quality projects of all sizes constructing laboratories and cGMP manufacturing facilities for the life science, pharmaceutical, biotech, and bio-health industries.
Gilson is a third generation Madison based family-owned company developing liquid handling, purification, and extraction solutions with a focus on helping the life scientist at the bench achieve more productive research and verifiable data. Since 1957, we have helped researchers advance the pace of discovery by creating human-centered and application-oriented lab tools that improve reproducibility, traceability, and that are easy to use. Our employees are dedicated to working for scientific progress, with the same strongly held values that have been guiding the company since its creation, and it shows in our products. We connect and collaborate with the scientific community to make lab life easier for researchers and to help them achieve verifiable results.
Since its founding in 1848, UW–Madison has been a catalyst for the extraordinary. As a public land-grant university and Research I institution, our students, staff and faculty members partake in a world-class education and solve real-world problems. Our $1.3 B in research expenditures—eighth-most of all universities in the country—advance a wide variety of disciplines including the arts, education, STEM and the social sciences. We’re the #1 university generating Fortune 500 CEOs and Peace Corps volunteers. And with the Wisconsin Idea as our guiding principle, we’re not only changing the 936 acres we call home—Badgers are also creating a better future for Wisconsin, the nation and the world.
WiCell is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to advance stem cell technologies. The global leader in cell banking, characterization testing and distribution of stem cell lines, WiCell builds on these core strengths by also providing characterization testing for a wide variety of cell types, clinical grade stem cell lines, quality control testing, contract cell banking and long-term LN2 storage services. In 2016, WiCell utilized excess capacity to initially help one startup spun out from UW- Madison. Forward BIOLABS was born out of the desire to expand this idea to help multiple companies and strengthen Wisconsin’s biotechnology community by filling this gap in the ecosystem. WiCell is proud to sponsor this important effort.
