Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Lonza-Walkersville Improving Workforce Through Internships
With the help of: Maryland MEP
About
Lonza is a preferred global partner to the pharmaceutical, biotech and nutrition markets. Headquarters and the largest manufacturing site for Lonza Bioscience Solutions remain based in Walkersville, Maryland, where the company began operations in 1974, acquiring the headquarters site in 2007. Lonza Bioscience works to enable a healthier world, supporting customers to deliver new and innovative medicines that help treat a wide range of diseases. The business is structured across four divisions: Biologics, Small Molecules, Cell & Gene and Capsules & Health Ingredients.
The Challenge
Lonza Walkersville, like many manufacturers, continues to look for new and innovative ways to enhance, improve and increase their workforce. In the summer of 2023, Lonza Walkersville participated in Maryland MEP’s Manufacturing Internship Program, funded in partnership with the Maryland Department of Labor's EARN Maryland Program as a way to train and encourage the next generation of manufacturing talent. Maryland MEP is part of the MEP National Network™.
The Lonza Walkersville Intern program, organized with the help of Maryland MEP’s Maryland Manufacturing Internship Program, is a fantastic opportunity for us to make a meaningful difference in our community and supports our sustainability goals. It’s not simply 'the right thing' to do, but truly drives our values in a multitude of aspects, such as development opportunities for interns, leadership experience for assigned internal coaches and tangible business results.
From personal experience, I know what an impact an internship program can have. In the beginning of my career in Switzerland, I had the opportunity for an internship in a Swiss pharma company. This experience helped develop clarity for me and a passion for work in a laboratory. It also evolved into a three- year apprenticeship as a lab technician, which set the foundation for further experience and my educational development. It started as simply producing my own soap – which by the way had way too much rose perfume in it – to creating a foundation for a career where I can now support a team making a meaning full difference within LONZA.
MEP's Role
Lonza-Walkersville employed five interns over the summer of 2023. Caleigh Fletcher, a rising senior at Dickinson College studying biochemistry and molecular biology with a Health Studies certificate, entered the 2023 Internship Program at Lonza Walkersville as an engineering intern. Throughout the summer of 2023, Caleigh worked at Lonza Walkersville in the research and development team to develop a methodology to study the mixing capabilities of reagent that constitute the current Pyrogen® rFC assay and alternative formulations to improve the performance of the enzyme (rFC) activity. The results will help further understand the best conditions for thorough mixing of reagents using the Pyrogene assay for endotoxin detection.