Features

Rocco’s Doughnut Company, founded by Joe Astrella ’91, has an apt company motto: “Just a family bringing people together, one doughnut at a time.” The variety of doughnut flavors and the company’s social media following have grown quickly with the help of Rocco’s children, who have all been key to his success: his son, Vincenzo Astrella […]

During her visit to Worcester State last spring, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten described the successful Early College Worcester program as a beacon for the rest of the nation. Now, that beacon is about to get brighter. A new $1 million grant to Worcester State University will allow the early college programming to […]

Researchers find educators struggle with academic discipline decisions. Every day in schools across the United States, principals and vice principals issue out-of-school suspensions to middle and high school students for a variety of offenses, some as serious as having a weapon at school, and others as minor as not following directions. Students missed out on […]

As biotech industry grows in Massachusetts, Worcester State’s biotechnology program recognized as a best value in New England and a Top 10 best biotechnology degree in the U.S. Goggles, gloves, and aprons on. Grab a 15 mL tube with the green cap. Don’t forget to label everything. The first few minutes of Associate Professor Roger […]

Tissue culture scientist Samantha Durand, MS ’22 creates a beating cardiac organoid in a win-win for her master’s degree and her professional work For her master’s thesis in biotechnology, Samantha Durand proposed a scientifically ambitious and professionally strategic idea. She would attempt to create beating cardiac organoids from human-induced pluripotent stem cells—and the experiment would […]

Early-career scientist Nic Esper ’20 found opportunity and invaluable real-world training in Worcester’s thriving biotechnology ecosystem while he was still an undergrad As a junior biotechnology major, Nicolas Esper ’20 knew he needed to graduate with industry experience. Esper connected with the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI), a Worcester-based incubator for biomedical startups that has supported […]