The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit, marine biomedical research institution located in Salisbury Cove, Maine, founded as the Tufts Summer School of Biology in 1898 at South Harpswell by Professor J.S. Kingsley of Tufts University.

The Laboratory was originally envisioned to be a summer school for undergraduates in biology. For seven or eight years, instruction was carried out along with research, but the instruction was dropped in favor of pure research. Early work was done on comparative anatomy and embryology of marine species and plants collected locally from the waters around South Harpswell, in southern Maine. The laboratory consisted of a single research building and a house occupied by Kingsley and his family. Visiting scientists and their families were frequently housed in tents during the summer research season. Research work continued at the the South Harpswell site until 1921.

In June of 1921 the Laboratory was packed onto a boat and sailed Downeast to its present location at Salisbury Cove. The move was undertaken when an offer of land was made by an organization known as the Wild Gardens of Acadia—a land-holding group headed by George B. Dorr and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. instrumental in the founding of Acadia National Park.

A nearly identical laboratory was quickly built and research commenced again that summer. Seasonal research focused on the function of fish kidneys as a model for human kidney function. This signaled a shift from studying entire species to examining individual organs to determine their function within a living system. Work continued each summer until the lab was briefly closed during World War II. Following the war the lab resumed its summer schedule, focusing ever more deeply into cell structures and growth.

Starting in the early fifties there was a slow increase in the number of research personnel each year as more students were brought to the lab to assist with the research. By the early sixties the number of investigators had risen from 20 to 30 each summer to about 45. Researchers were now pursuing how cells regulated their functions and how various compounds affected cell operations.

Notable during this time was the appointment of MDIBL investigator James A. Shannon to head the National Institutes of Health as well as the work of E.K. Marshall and Homer Smith whose renal physiology studies led to understanding how the kidney and the gill regulated the body’s salt concentration of cells. With Robert Berliner and other investigators they studied the function of these organs.

In 1959, Wendell Burger’s discovery of the shark rectal gland’s function in pumping out salt from the intestine showed the shark gland to be an incredible model for the study of cystic fibrosis.

The sixties also brought about social changes which were reflected in some of the research done at the lab. The human race had now seen the planet from space and began to view the Earth as a finite resource that should be protected instead of exploited. Exploration into the effects of human activities showed how damaging compounds such as DDT, crude oil, and other toxins were to the marine environment.

A major change in the laboratory occurred in 1971 with the first year-round investigations, led by Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen and William Kinter, who conducted research in kidney physiology. Most of the labs on campus were not built for winter occupation since they had no insulation or sources of heat, a state which a few labs are still in today. Research work was conducted in cell biology, fluid and ion transport, and cell metabolism.

In 1985, the NIEHS Center for Membrane Toxicity Studies (CMTS) was established at MDIBL. The CMTS was the first national research center established at MDIBL, and continues to conduct active studies in the areas of signal transduction and ion transport, and xenobiotic transport and excretion. Xenobiotics are foreign substances toxic to cells and cell function, including heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, tin, copper, zinc, and cadmium.

The last decade of the twentieth century introduced the field of molecular and cellular biology to the work done at the Laboratory. This has added a new dimension to the models used for research into marine species. In 1999, the Center for Functional Marine Genomic Studies was established and the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database was started in 2001.

That same year, MDIBL established a Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN), a partnership between MDIBL, The Jackson Laboratory, Bates College, Colby College, Bowdoin College, College of the Atlantic and the University of Maine for biomedical research training in Maine. BRIN was later changed to the IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE).

In the fall of 2002, MDIBL launched its Marine Stem Cell Lines and Stem Cell Program, with David Barnes and Denry Sato, as Director and Deputy Director, respectively.

Today, there are 10 separate laboratory buildings with a total of 32 laboratory units. The year-round population has grown to 31 scientists and staff, with summertime growth up to 200 seasonal scientists, students, technicians and staff.

References

Epstein, FH, edit. A Laboratory by the Sea: The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory 1898-1998. The River Press, Rhinebeck, NY. 1998.

Maren, TH. An Historical Account of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory: 1898-1993. The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Salisbury Cove, ME. 1993.

Kinne, RKH. The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory 1898-1998: A Century of Scientific Exploration. MDIBL Bulletin 38: viii-xii, 1998.