A Prickly Subject: The Sea Urchin Genome is Sequenced
MDIBL Scientist Makes Good Use of Its Surprising Similarity to Humans
November 9, 2006
 BAR HARBOR, MAINE -- Who would have guessed that the lowly sea urchin, that brain-less, limb-less porcupine of the sea, would be the star of a multi-million dollar, worldwide effort to map out every letter of its genetic code? Or that the information gathered in that effort may eventually lead to new treatments for cancer, infertility, blindness, and diseases like muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s Disease?
James Coffman, Ph.D., of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor was one of the scientists who helped decode the 814 million pairs of nucleotide bases in the sea urchin’s chromosomes. The Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas led the project and announced the completion of the three-year project today. Having the complete genome, Coffman says, “makes doing research on urchins so much easier.” Read more...
$4.5 Million Comparative Toxicogenomics Database Grant Awarded to the MDI Biological Laboratory
September 18 , 2006
BAR HARBOR -- The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) has received a 5 year grant totaling $4.5 million from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Library of Medicine, both components of the National Institutes of Health. The grant will support continued development of the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (TM), a publicly available database that promotes understanding about the effects of environmental chemicals on human health.
Over 80,000 new chemicals have been brought into commercial production and released into the environment in the last century, but their effects on human health are poorly understood. Scientists now agree that many diseases such as asthma, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, immune deficiency disorders, and Parkinson disease may be influenced or caused by exposure to environmental chemicals. CTD will enable scientists, policy makers, and activists to better understand the complex relationship between environmental chemicals and human disease by presenting precise information about interactions between chemicals and critical genes and proteins. CTD includes information about interactions that occur in thousands of different species to provide insights into the genetic basis of different susceptibilities to disease and to provide a broader perspective on how chemicals affect biological systems. Read more...
Ground Broken for New Environmentally-Friendly Lab Building
July 27, 2006
Scientists, trustees, staff, students, and friends of the Mt. Desert Biological Laboratory gathered in the woods behind the Marshall Lab on July 27, 2006 to break ground for the first new laboratory building to be constructed at MDIBL in over thirty years. As the first “green” research laboratory building ever to be built in Maine, the new facility marks a milestone in the Lab’s commitment to its surroundings and is the result of the same careful, intensive planning that has led to its prodigious and productive growth over the past seven years. Terence Boylan, Chair of the Lab’s Board of Trustees, and Dr. John Forrest, MDIBL’s Director, joined with WBRC Architects-Engineers Principal John Rohman, construction manager Nickerson and O’Day’s Randy Poulton, former Chair of the Board of Trustees Dr. James Boyer, and Trustees I. Wistar Morris III and Max Brennickmeyer in wielding golden shovels immediately after the Annual Meeting of the MDIBL Corporation and an unveiling of the design plans. Construction of the facility will begin this fall, with occupancy planned for July 2008. Read more...
MDIBL Joins Labs21 for Sustainable Laboratory Design
August 1, 2006
As the final plans for the new laboratory building are completed, MDIBL joined the ranks of corporate, academic, and government pioneers leading the way to sustainable laboratory design as a partner in the Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21) program of the U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA. Labs21 encourages the development of high-preformance, low-energy laboratories by offering technical assistance from nationally recognized exoerts, access to tools and resources to enhance project design, and opportunities to network and share project results with other labs from around the globe--at no cost to its partners. MDIBL is one of only two marine labs, and the only one from a northern climate, to become a Labs21 partner. Visit www.labs21century.gov for more infomation about this forward thinking program.
Another Four Star Rating for MDIBL by Charity Navigator
May 4, 2006
For the third year in a row, MDIBL has been awarded four stars – the highest possible rating –
by Charity Navigator, the largest charity-rating organization in the U.S. Read more...
$100 K Gift to Support High School Fellowships
August 2, 2005
Elizabeth R. Bright of Northeast Harbor has bequeathed the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory $100,000, a gift that will be used to endow high school science education scholarships in memory of Mrs. Bright, who died May 25.
“This is an extremely thoughtful donation and all of us at the MDI Bio Lab are very grateful that Mrs. Bright chose to remember us,” said Dr. John N. Forrest, Jr., Director of the Laboratory. “In the years ahead, there will be many students here who will benefit from her generosity.”
According to her son, James Bright, “my mother raised 10 children and encouraged all of us to explore our interests and I think this is just her way of encouraging others that otherwise might not get the opportunity.”
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory has provided science education for generations of high school, undergraduate and graduate students, two-thirds of whom go on to receive an M.D. or Ph.D.
$435 K award to supplement Maine INBRE
August 29, 2005
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory has been awarded a $463,795 grant by the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health, funding that will be used to support biomedical research training statewide.
Dr. Patricia Hand, Administrative Director, said “MDIBL is very pleased to be the recipient of this award which will enhance Maine’s capacity to conduct biomedical research. This grant will provide additional infrastructure for faculty and students participating in Maine’s IDEA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program.”
Last year, MDIBL, in partnership with the Jackson Laboratory and seven Maine undergraduate colleges (Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, College of the Atlantic and The University of Maine campuses in Orono, Farmington and Machias), received a $17.8 million grant to strengthen Maine’s biomedical research capacity by providing hands-on research training for 600 Maine undergraduate students and research support for 26 research scientists. This latest award, a supplement to the original grant, will be used to enhance Maine’s INBRE program by increasing computer data storage capacity and videoconferencing technology.
Awarded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the INBRE grant is an institutional development award available to states that have a success rate of less than 20 percent in competing for NIH grants or have received less than $70 million on average in NIH support from 1995 to 1999. The purpose of this program is to help these states build the infrastructure they need to more successfully compete for federal NIH dollars and, more importantly, support and conduct cutting-edge biomedical research.
Sea urchin developmental biologist newest MDIBL recruit
August 15, 2005
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory has announced that James A. Coffman, Ph.D., a researcher at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri, will be joining the Laboratory in September.
Dr. Coffman uses the sea urchin embryo as a model system to examine regulatory systems that control animal development. He is the eighth scientist to be recruited to MDIBL’s expanding Center for Marine Functional Genomic Studies. The center uses marine models such as the shark and skate to understand the relationships between genomic sequence and biological function, which can then be applied to the improvement of human health.
“An appointment at MDIBL and the Center for Marine Functional Genomic Studies is in many ways my dream job. I love the ocean and have always wanted to work at a marine lab. Moreover, the biomedical focus of MDIBL is particularly conducive to my lab's research on the developmental biology and genomic regulatory systems of sea urchin embryos.
“MDIBL will provide a supportive environment for our use of comparative approaches to elucidate biological principles that are relevant to human health, and much of the work being carried out at MDIBL is synergistic with our own. Beyond that, MDIBL’s renowned history, beautiful setting in the woods by Salisbury Cove, and relaxed and family-oriented atmosphere are quite inspiring.”
Dr. Coffman has a bachelor of arts biology degree from Carleton College, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a Ph.D. in zoology from Duke University. He is a member of the American Society for Cell Biology, the Society for Developmental Biology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Comparative Toxicogenomics Database Prototype Released to Public
May 18, 2005
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory has publicly released a prototype of the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD: http://ctd.mdibl.org). CTD aims to advance understanding about the impact of environmental chemicals on human health. It is the first database to provide centralized, integrated, and curated molecular and toxicology data from diverse organisms for scientists worldwide.
“It is becoming increasingly well accepted that many diseases involve interactions between environmental factors and genes. We integrate key data from diverse species, such as gene sequences, chemicals, and references, to provide a comparative perspective on gene-chemical interactions. This perspective is critical for understanding molecular mechanisms by which chemicals exert toxicity” according to Dr. Carolyn J. Mattingly, Director of Bioinformatics at MDIBL.
This perspective may also prove to be important for predicting toxicity. Classical studies have demonstrated that even closely related species can have dramatically different responses to chemical exposures. Data provided by CTD will provide insights into the genetic basis of these differences.
The CTD prototype is a community-supported public resource funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health. The scientific community is invited to participate in its development by providing feedback or submitting data sets via the website (ctd@mdibl.org).
CTD is being developed at MDIBL. Key participants in this project include Dr. James L Boyer (Principal Investigator) and Dr. John N. Forrest, Jr. (Participating Investigator), both affiliated with MDIBL and the Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Carolyn J. Mattingly (Co-Investigator), and Glenn T. Colby and Michael C. Rosenstein (Scientific Software Engineers).
NIH / NHGRI Approves Skate Genome Project
March 9, 2005
A large-scale project to sequence the genome of the skate has been approved by
the National Human Genome Research Institute, one of the National Institutes
of Health.
The decision to fund the sequencing of the skate was in response to a
proposal submitted by the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, the Genome Sequencing Center of Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Benaroya Institute in
Seattle.
The skate is one of 11 strategically selected non-mammalian organisms
determined by the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research to
have the greatest potential to fill crucial gaps in human biomedical
knowledge. According to Dr. Mark S. Guyer, Director of NHGRI’s Division of
Extramural Research, “The most effective approach we currently have to
identify the essential functional and structural components of the human
genome is to compare it with the genomes of other organisms.”
For a more indepth discussion of the Skate Genome Project and MDIBL (more)
Read more:
Bangor Daily News Article March 19, 2005 (1Mb PDF)
National Human Genome Research Institute news release
Science Daily article
In Genetics, Even Mendel Wasn’t Always Right, Maine Researchers Show
Contacts
Jerilyn Bowers, MDI Biological Laboratory, jeri@mdibl.org, 207-288-9880 x105
Donna Gold, College of the Atlantic, dgold@coa.edu, 207-288-5015, x291
Doug Hubley, Bates College, dhubley@bates.edu, 207-786-6330
Joyce Peterson, The Jackson Laboratory, joyce@jax.org, 207-288-6058
March 1, 2005
A research team from Maine has just brought new evidence to a long-standing debate in genetics.
Some genes are seemingly inseparable in nature; they form a haplotype—a set of genes inherited as a unit. Some researchers support the notion that mapping haplotypes may be more significant than mapping the genome. The haplotype map could allow researchers to look for a single variation in the complex genetic code and know all the variations associated with it, since all are part of the same haplotype.
A discovery by a research team from Maine challenges that proposal. The group, which included Antonio Planchart of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory and the College of the Atlantic, John Schimenti of The Jackson Laboratory and Jennifer Reynolds, an undergraduate from Bates College, demonstrated that genes within a haplotype function independently.
In feral house mice, 20 percent of the population carries one copy of the t haplotype whereas the remaining 80 percent carries the wild haplotype. According to the distribution predictions set out by Gregor Mendel, the 19th century Austrian monk who studied inheritance in flowering pea plants, males and females should pass the t haplotype to half their offspring.
In a strange twist to what Mendel might have predicted, the males pass the t haplotype to nearly 100 percent of their offspring—practically twice the Mendelian prediction (a phenomenon known as “transmission ratio distortion”).
Stranger still, male and female mice that inherit the t haplotype from both parents typically do not survive, but in the rare instances when they do, the overwhelming majority of males are sterile.
Until now, most geneticists suspected that both transmission ratio distortion and sterility were due to the same mutations in a small number of genes residing in the t haplotype. The hypothesis was logical since the phenomena of transmission ratio distortion and sterility always mapped to the same regions within the t haplotype.
To test this hypothesis, the Maine researchers closed in on a region of the t haplotype known to be involved in these phenomena. They used this information to develop transgenic mice that carried the candidate region derived from the wild haplotype.
When the transgenic region segregated with the t haplotype, the researchers noted that males carrying two copies of the t haplotype plus the transgenic region were fertile and showed no transmission ratio distortion. Therefore, the scientists realized that two genes must be involved—one controlling sterility and a yet-to-be discovered gene regulating transmission ratio distortion.
When asked about their results, Dr. Planchart said, “For more than 50 years, researchers have sought the biochemical and molecular basis of these phenomena. Therefore, this work represents a landmark study of the genetics of the t haplotype—it shows for the first time that different genes within the haplotype cause transmission ratio distortion and sterility.” The research is published in the March 1 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
MDIBL awarded $49K Woodcock Foundation grant
February 7, 2005
SALISBURY COVE–The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory has received a $49,000 grant award from the Woodcock Foundation in New York City.
The grant will be used to fund year two of a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. David Barnes, director of the marine stem cell and cell line research program at MDIBL.
“With the generous support of the Woodcock Foundation, our lab is able to provide a fellowship to Dr. Christopher Bayne, who divides his research time between MDIBL and Oregon State University. Dr. Bayne’s research at MDIBL is centered on the northern sea urchin, “ said Dr. Barnes.
At MDIBL, approaches based on research by Japanese scientists have enabled the establishment of a cell culture system involving an urchin where cells from tissues were placed in culture and have started to yield long-term survivors that have begun to proliferate. Cells from these types of cultures are expected to serve as tools for a diverse array of studies.
The Woodcock Foundation also funded the first year of Dr. Bayne’s fellowship in 2004.
$500,000 gift from Mr. and Mrs. I. Wistar Morris to support planned laboratory construction
November 17, 2004
SALISBURY COVE–The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory has received a $500,000 gift to its Second Century Campaign from Mr. and Mrs. I. Wistar Morris III of Villanova, Pennsylvania. The gift is earmarked toward construction of the Laboratory’s planned 12,700-square-foot research building.
Mr. and Mrs. Morris have challenged the Laboratory’s Board of Trustees to match this contribution and raise an additional $500,000 over the next three months.
The Laboratory is in the midst of a major $12 million expansion of its research and educational programs. The goal of the Laboratory’s Second Century Campaign is to raise $3.5 million from private philanthropy toward this effort. To date, $1.9 million has been raised.
"This amazing gift from Mr. and Mrs. Morris," according to Terence Boylan, chairman of the Laboratory’s Board, "is invaluable in providing major funding for the new research building and in generating interest in the important research under way at MDIBL. We are also excited about utilizing this opportunity to challenge other individuals to contribute to this significant effort."
Dr. John Forrest, MDIBL's director, said "this is the largest private gift in the Laboratory’s 106-year history. We are incredibly grateful to the Morrises for their outstanding generosity and for their willingness to support biomedical research in Maine. This gift will ensure that the Laboratory will move forward with its planned expansion and break ground on the first new laboratory building on our campus in 32 years."
Construction plans call for the Laboratory to break ground in 2006.
Download this release (MSWD, 29K)
Dr. David Towle awarded Fulbright Scholar grant for study in Croatia
November 12, 2004
SALISBURY COVE–Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory senior scientist Dr. David W. Towle has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to be used, beginning in January of 2005, for five months of teaching and research in molecular physiology at the Center for Marine Research in Rovinj, Croati.
According to Patti McGill Peterson, executive director of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars in Washington, D.C., “This year, approximately 800 U.S. faculty and professionals received Fulbright grants to lecture and conduct research abroad; a similar number of foreign scholars received awards to come to the United States primarily as researchers. These Fulbrighters join the approximately 87,500 U.S. and foreign scholars who have participated in the program since its inception in 1946.”
The Fulbright Scholar Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. The Council for International Exchange of Scholars is a private, nonprofit organization that manages the Fulbright scholar exchange.
Senator Olympia Snowe said Towle and the seven others from Maine who received Fulbrights “have demonstrated academic excellence and strong leadership in their respective fields. I congratulate these talented professionals on being selected to participate in the internationally-renowned Fulbright Program and wish them the greatest of success in their studies abroad and future careers.”
Dr. Towle, a native of Concord, N.H., received his Ph.D. in biological sciences from Dartmouth College, and is the former Foster G. McGaw Professor of Biology at Lake Forest College in Illinois and chair of the college’s Department of Biology. Since 1999, he has been director of MDIBL’s Marine DNA Sequencing and Analysis Facility.
Download this release (MSWD, 30K)
photo available by request
Mount Desert Island
Biological Laboratory, MDIBL, Receives $17.8 Million “INBRE” Grant. Grant is the largest in MDIBL’s
History
July 22, 2004
SALISBURY COVE–The state’s
efforts to develop a technically skilled workforce and strengthen its
research capacity received a significant boost with an announcement
today by Governor John Baldacci of a five-year $17.8 million federal
grant to the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory.
This collaborative grant, known as the
IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence
(INBRE) will support a partnership of seven Maine colleges and two
independent
research institutions aimed at expanding biomedical research
opportunities across
the state. Governor Baldacci announced the federal grant award at a
press conference
at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory’s corporation annual
meeting
Thursday, July 22.
This grant is evidence that the state’s
investment in biomedical
research is paying off. The INBRE grant will enable Maine to
significantly strengthen
its biomedical research sector, as well as develop the technically
skilled workforce
that is so vital to attracting knowledge-based industries to our
state.” Baldacci
said.
The primary goal of the grant is to
assist talented
scientists and gifted students to advance their research skills by
promoting
the development, coordination and
sharing of research resources and expertise throughout the state. The
grant links
two independent research institutions, the Mount Desert Island
Biological Laboratory
and The Jackson Laboratory, with seven undergraduate institutions,
Bates, Bowdoin,
and Colby colleges, College of the Atlantic and The University of Maine
campuses
in Orono, Farmington and Machias. INBRE provides funding for each
institution
to strengthen and expand its research programs with a common focus on
comparative
functional genomics. INBRE also addresses Maine’s growing need for a
technically
skilled workforce by providing concentrated research training
opportunities to
more than 500 undergraduate students throughout the state.
INBRE allows
students and faculty from the undergraduate institutions to participate
in week-long
intensive training workshops held at MDIBL during the academic year,”
said
Dr. Patricia Hand, Administrative Director for MDIBL and the Director
of the
INBRE program. “The students work very closely with our scientists to
design
their own experiments, learn cutting-edge research techniques and
develop oral
and written presentations based on their research results. The grant
also provides
important mentoring opportunities for young scientists throughout the
state by
partnering them with senior-level scientists at INBRE institutions. For
those
just beginning their research careers, having a well established senior
mentor
and collaborator is crucial to career development and in obtaining
federal research
grants.”
Awarded by the National Center for
Research Resources (NCRR) at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), the INBRE grant is an institutional
development award
available to states that have a success rate of less than 20 percent in
competing
for NIH grants or have received less than $70 million on average in NIH
support
from 1995 to 1999. The purpose of this program is to help these states
build
the infrastructure they need to more successfully compete for federal
NIH dollars
and, more importantly, support and conduct cutting-edge biomedical
research.
*************************************
INBRE Fact Sheet
• INBRE: IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence
• Total Grant Amount: $17.8
million over five years
• Program Goals: The overall
goal of the INBRE grant is to augment and strengthen Maine’s biomedical
research capacity by further developing the collaborative network
established by the BRIN program. This network is composed of two
premiere research institutions (Mount Desert Island Biological
Laboratory and The Jackson Laboratory) and seven undergraduate
degree-granting institutions (Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, College of the
Atlantic and The University of Maine at Orono, Farmington and Machias).
INBRE will build on the successful foundation established by BRIN by
further strengthening biomedical research infrastructure through a
multidisciplinary research network with a thematic scientific focus in
comparative functional genomics and by expanding opportunities for
developing the biomedical research competitiveness of Maine scientists.
• Outreach Institutions: In
addition to the network institutions participating in the BRIN grant,
the INBRE grant provides funding to add two additional outreach
partners: The University of Maine at Machias and Farmington.
• Objectives of the Network:
The network enhances the biomedical research capacity and
competitiveness of students and faculty in Maine by:
• Providing research support
and core facilities to faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate
students at participating institutions;
• Creating year-round and
seasonal research training opportunities for undergraduate students at
participating institutions;
• Providing outreach
activities to students and faculty at all undergraduate institutions
and community colleges in Maine, and through all of the above;
• Serving as a pipeline for
undergraduate and graduate students to pursue health research careers
and enhance the scientific and technical knowledge of Maine’s workforce
• Economic and Educational
Impact in Maine: The INBRE program will substantially increase economic
and educational opportunities for Maine residents by:
• Providing hands-on research
training to more than 600 Maine undergraduate students over the
five-year grant period;
• Funding for 25 new
positions, including 2 junior faculty, 20 postdoctoral and research
technicians positions, one computer technician and 3 administrative
assistants;
• Supporting research programs
for 7 junior faculty positions for 5 years and 4 pilot research
projects for 2 years;
INBRE Fact Sheet Page 2
• Economic and Educational
Impact (con’t)
• Creating new research
opportunities statewide by funding equipment, supplies, summer and
academic year stipends, opportunities for collaboration and mentoring
within the network;
• Supporting graduate
education in Maine by establishing research fellowships for graduate
students, graduate school application workshops and recruitment of
students to graduate school programs;
• Building stronger links
among Maine’s research and academic institutions and enhancing
biomedical research opportunities at undergraduate partner institutions;
• Creating a population of
college graduates who are better trained for the research and
development job market
• Specific Benefits to Maine
Institutions:
• The Mount Desert Island
Biological Laboratory: The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
(MDIBL) is in the midst of a major expansion of its research and
educational programs. INBRE will provide critical funding to support
cutting edge research programs in comparative functional genomics, and
to expand hands-on training opportunities for Maine students.
• The Jackson Laboratory:
INBRE supports collaborative initiatives with our scientific colleagues
within the state of Maine, students in our prestigious summer program,
provides a forum and support for initiatives to increase band width
within our state and to connect to Internet2, and funds the work of Dr.
Joel Graber, a computational biologist investigating the influences on
gene expression in early development.
• Bates. INBRE funds will
support the establishment of an imaging and computing center that will
enhance the College’s research capabilities in bioinformatics and
genomics. These funds will allow Bates to acquire appropriate software
and licensing fees and hire a half-time database administrator to
oversee the center. INBRE funding will also increase the College’s
internal capacity for administering a growing number of large research
projects by allowing for a part-time coordinator.
• Bowdoin. INBRE will allow
Bowdoin to create two new programs. Pre-Doctoral Summer Research
Fellowships will be offered to just-graduated Bowdoin students who have
been engaged in mentored research during their undergraduate career and
plan to pursue graduate work. The second program for a Junior
Biomedical Researcher will involve a 12-month appointment to a
just-graduated Bowdoin senior. The Junior Biomedical Researcher will be
expected to significantly advance his or her research during the
12-month period. The expectation is that Junior Biomedical Researchers
will publish their work by the end of their appointment and that they
will serve as role models for other students interested in pursuing
biomedical research careers. Funds are also requested to support the
acquisition of equipment that will benefit the entire biomedical
research faculty, e.g., an ultracentrifuge, thermocyclers and an
autoclave. Additionally, the widened availability of scientific
electronic journals continues to be vitally important to support
faculty and student research. Funds are requested to support the
continued purchase of needed biomedical-related electronic journals,
and new acquisitions.
• Colby. INBRE will support
acquisition of scientific equipment including a phosphoimager,
biological incubators, an ultracentrifuge and an UV spectrophotometer,
all of which will be used to support Colby’s biomedical research
programs. Funding will also be provided for a molecular technician,
dedicated to supporting the biomedical research programs of several
faculty, and to the training of students and faculty in molecular
techniques.
• College of the Atlantic.
BRIN (INBRE predecessor) has been the most successful initiative in the
short history of the college in providing training and research
opportunities for undergraduates in biomedical research. Student
interest in biomedical research has led to the approximate doubling of
yearly course offerings in biomedical-related fields, as well as the
design of a new two-term human anatomy and physiology course. INBRE
will support academic-year research fellowships for students with MDIBL
and TJL investigators, and provide research support and release time
for two new faculty to develop competitive research programs and to
train undergraduates.
• The University of Maine. The
University of Maine wishes to increase its faculty and research base in
biomedical research as well as expand opportunities for its graduate
and undergraduate students. Participation of students and faculty in
INBRE will enhance their biomedical research training, help recruit
other students and faculty to UM, and to enhance the University’s
biomedical research capacity.
• The University of Maine at
Farmington: The University of Maine at Farmington’s approach to
education is based on the belief that students must have opportunities
to form meaningful relationships with inspiring teachers. As Maine’s
first institution of public higher education, UMF is an intellectual
and cultural center for western Maine. Through INBRE, UMF students and
faculty will gain valuable research experience in the biomedical
sciences currently unavailable in existing UMF programs. Participation
in INBRE training programs will help prepare them for careers in the
biomedical sciences.
• The University of Maine at
Machias: UMM’s mission emphasizes the connection between the curriculum
and the Downeast coast, specifically in the academic programs of
environmental studies, marine biology and biology. Faculty across the
science curriculum engage students in applied research, service
learning and hands-on experiences with such organizations as Moosehorn
National Wildlife Refuge, Atlantic Salmon Commission, Down East
Institute at Black Duck Cove, Roosevelt Campobello International Park,
and Quoddy Regional Land Trust. Participation with INBRE will give UMM
students a chance to enhance their academic programs while engaging in
undergraduate biomedical research, to have unique opportunities for
independent studies, co-ops, and internships , and to participate in
extended summer research experiences and short-term academic year
institutes and conferences at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
and The Jackson Laboratory.
• • • • • Contact Information
for Each Institution:
• Mount Desert Island
Biological Laboratory Jerilyn M. Bowers, Director of Public Affairs
P.O. Box 35, Salisbury Cove, Maine 04672 207/288-3147 (tel)
207/288-2130 (fax) email: jeri@mdibl.org web: www.mdibl.org
• The Jackson Laboratory Joyce
Peterson, Public Information Manager 610 Main Street, Bar Harbor, Maine
04679 207/288-6058 email: joyce@jax.org web: www.jax.org
• Bates College Brian McNulty,
Director of Communications 141 Nichols Street Lewiston, Maine 04240
207/786-6330 email: bmcnulty@bates.edu web: www.bates.edu
• Bowdoin College Selby Frame,
Associate Director of Academic Communications 3900 College Station,
Brunswick, Maine 04011 207/725-3961 email: sframe@bowdoin.edu web:
www.bowdoin.edu
• Colby College Ruth N.
Jacobs, Assistant Director of Communications 4195 Mayflower Hill Drive,
Waterville, Maine 04901 207/872-3220 email: rnjacobs@colby.edu web:
www.colby.edu
• College of the Atlantic
Donna Gold, Director of Public Relations 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor,
Maine 04609 207/288-5015, Ext. 291 email: dgold@coa.edu web: www.coa.edu
• The University of Maine
Luanne Lawrence, Executive Director of Public Affairs and Marketing 1
Alumni Place, Orono, Maine 04476 207/581-3743 email:
luanne.lawrence@umit.maine.edu web: www.umaine.edu
• The University of Maine at
Farmington Tom Donaghue, Director of Public Information 111 South
Street, Farmington, Maine 04398 207/778-7081 email: donaghue@maine.edu
web: www.umf.maine.edu
• The University of Maine at
Machias Susan L. Palmer, Director of Advancement 9 O’Brien Avenue,
Machias, Maine 04654 207/255-1327 email: spalmer@maine.edu web:
www.umm.maine.edu
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