A staff member said during a site visit to East Tennessee State University (ETSU) that the university is working across multiple research areas and that an off‑campus lab space could help attract private industry partnerships.

The staff member said ETSU recently presented work in “probably 8 or 9 different areas of focus,” and singled out “biosynthetic engineering” as “a big deal here,” along with biomedical research, workforce development and use of artificial intelligence across colleges. The staff member described an off‑campus laboratory the transcript referred to as both “Valley Bridal Labs” and “Valley Brook” that provides lab space for companies to develop products.

Why it matters: the staff member said the outreach is intended to encourage industry to engage with universities and to “spend their research and development dollars here in our state with our research partners,” which the staff member framed as a goal of the visits.

The staff member emphasized a desire to bring industry to campus to see ETSU’s capabilities firsthand and to return with industry partners. “Industry needs to see what's happening here and that's really what we're trying to do,” the staff member said. The staff member added, “We want industry to be engaging with our universities and spending their research and development dollars here in our state with our research partners.”

On the off‑campus lab space, the staff member said it is “very unique” and hosts companies that come in to work on ideas and products. The transcript used two variants for the lab name (“Valley Bridal Labs” and “Valley Brook”); the article reports those variants rather than asserting a single official name.

The staff member said they will provide further information and updates about ETSU’s activities. “Look forward to bringing more information and more updates about what's happening right here at ETSU,” the staff member said.