DVC opens $2.8m biomanufacturing cleanroom lab in Pleasant Hill

Diablo Valley College faculty and Contra Costa Community College District trustees cut the ribbon on Friday morning for a $2.8 million Instructional Biomanufacturing Cleanroom Laboratory inside the Life Health Sciences Building at 321 Golf Club Road in Pleasant Hill. Engineered to mirror ISO Class 7 commercial pharmaceutical production suites, the 2,400-square-foot facility equips students in DVC's two-semester Biotechnology Certificate of Achievement program with hands-on training in aseptic gowning, mammalian cell fermentation, protein purification chromatography, and Good Manufacturing Practice documentation. Enrollees beginning the winter intersession and spring 2027 cohorts will log 120 laboratory hours operating single-use benchtop bioreactors identical to those deployed by East Bay life sciences employers.

The laboratory buildout was funded through a $1.95 million California Community Colleges Strong Workforce Program regional grant paired with $850,000 in equipment donations and curriculum sponsorships from diagnostics and bioprocessing firms along the Interstate 680 and Interstate 80 corridors in Concord, Emeryville, and Berkeley. Industry advisory board members worked alongside DVC microbiology professors to design standardized batch-record exercises and environmental air-particle monitoring drills.

Students who complete the sixteen-unit biomanufacturing sequence and pass the industry-recognized Bioscience Core Skills Institute practical assessment qualify for paid 400-hour production technician internships with nine partnering East Bay employers. Starting hourly wages for certified entry-level biomanufacturing associates across Contra Costa and Alameda counties currently average $31 to $36 per hour with full healthcare benefits and tuition reimbursement for bachelor's degree completion.

The Biological Sciences Department will host two public open-house tours and prospective student advising workshops on Thursday, October 29, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM and Saturday, November 7, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM in LHS Room 114. Residents, high school seniors, and career changers can register for the tour or review spring 2027 course prerequisites on the Diablo Valley College Biological Sciences Portal.