Eastern NC

Eastern North Carolina is home to beautiful beaches, abundant farmland and vast forests. Hundreds of years ago, these natural resources gave rise to industries such as fishing, tobacco farming and maritime products. 

Today, these same resources are the cornerstone of the area’s rapidly growing biotechnology sectors. Technologies that we are developing in Eastern North Carolina are making a difference worldwide by:

• Helping farmers around the world meet increasing demand for food
• Alleviating modern life’s impact on our environment and
• Developing bio-based fuels as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Research to Manufacture the Future

The eastern region's research facilities are producing technology that will improve and save lives. The growing popularity of the region for research is creating more jobs as well.

• The Eastern region brings tremendous talent to bear in shaping the growing life-science economy from East Carolina University and its Brody School of Medicine to the pharmacy program at Elizabeth City State University.
• To compete with larger, established regions, smaller regions are forming partnerships to advance their life-science technologies and to create local jobs. The Eastern Region joined regions in Poland and Spain to found one of those partnerships, the Global Innovation Network.
• There’s strength in numbers, and five Eastern counties pooled their resources to enhance their efforts to create life-science jobs in the region. The BioEast Alliance increases the presence of biotechnology research and manufacturing in the five-county region.
• Scientists at the Vernon G. James Research Center – located on the N.C. Department of Agriculture (NCDA) and Consumer Resources’ Tidewater Research Station – study agriculture, natural resources and the local environment. Both NCDA and NC State researchers study crops, livestock, aquaculture, horticulture, soil and water on 1,558 acres near Plymouth in Washington County .
• The Center of Innovation in Marine Biotechnology unites research activity to commercialize products and create companies and jobs. Early efforts may develop marine resources as a new source for medicines, cosmetics and other products.
• The best treatment for heart disease is prevention, and the East Carolina Heart Institute brings that expertise to Eastern North Carolina. The institute’s research integrates the prevention and treatment of heart disease with research into its underlying causes.  This partnership between East Carolina University and Pitt County Memorial Hospital has its roots in ECU’s expertise with the minimally invasive da Vinci® robotic surgical system.

Education & Training Opportunities for Today’s Workforce and Tomorrow’s Scientists

In Eastern North Carolina, we’re committed to connecting talented North Carolina natives with promising and stable careers close to home.  Local educational institutions offer many levels of biotechnology training in everything from bioprocessing to agriculture, generating a wealth of industry-ready biotechnology employees.

• Bertie Early College High School: Students focus on and sharpen their agriscience and biotechnology skills in this industry-specific curriculum.
• Biotechnology Degree Consortium: In partnership with with the region’s community colleges, Pitt Community College offers a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree to train technicians and research assistants.
• The BioNetwork Bioprocessing Center: This Greenville facility assists all community colleges that offer customized training or degree programs in biomanufacturing.
• Undergraduate and Graduate Programs: Undergraduates pursue a range of life-science majors at East Carolina University and Elizabeth City State University. The two universities offer advanced degrees in biotechnology-related fields, pharmacology, dentistry and medicine.

Learn more

• Eastern Strengths
• Eastern Resources
• Advisory Committee
• Directions