Research

Research at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory is based on the premise that using a comparative approach—studying a range of evolutionarily diverse organisms—reveals important biological principles. Our scientists study non-mammalian animals to learn about fundamental biological processes. Discoveries made at MDIBL underlie new treatments for human diseases and disabilities, help us understand how organisms interact with their environment, and provide a framework for describing the dynamics of biological systems from molecules to ecosystems.

Diversity is at the very core of MDIBL, among both its scientists and the organisms they study. The Lab attracts researchers and students from a broad range of educational backgrounds and academic disciplines including both basic and physician scientists working in areas as diverse as physiology, molecular biology, ecology, toxicology, genomics, and bioinformatics. These scientists study a wide variety of marine and non-marine model organisms ranging from C. elegans—a tiny roundworm with a well-defined genome and limited number of cells—to sea urchins, zebrafish, skates, Daphnia, and lobsters, among many others. Non-mammalian animals provide powerful models for studying how organisms develop as embryos; how they regenerate new organs and limbs as adults; how they transport solutes and water across cell and epithelial membranes; how they interact on a cellular and molecular level with changes in environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, and toxins; and how both the complete organism and its cells respond to stress and its long-term effects.

Research at MDIBL is carried out in three centers: the Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, the Martha and Wistar Morris Center for Environmental Health Sciences, and the John W. and Jean C. Boylan Center for Cellular and Molecular Physiology.