March 28, 2024
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Jackson Lab lands $24.5M in grants Funds from NIH entities aimed at research on bone health, glaucoma, aging

BAR HARBOR – The Jackson Laboratory, which expects to add 400 jobs to its work force in the next half-decade or so, announced Tuesday that it has obtained federal research grants totaling $24.5 million over the next five years.

The new grants from five different National Institutes of Health entities will fund research in bone health, glaucoma and aging, among other things.

Overall, federal grants represent $50 million a year for the nonprofit biomedical research institution, ranking the laboratory among the nation’s top independent research institutes for NIH funding, officials said.

The number of the lab’s employees has doubled since 1990 to roughly 1,300 today, and since 2002 its annual budget has grown more than 50 percent to $146.5 million.

Rick Woychik, the lab’s top official, said Tuesday this kind of growth would not be possible without the investment Maine taxpayers have provided by approving several bond issues over recent years.

Between 2001 and 2006, the state has invested $35.9 million in the lab through the Maine Biomedical Research Fund.

“In that same period, the laboratory attracted more than $322 million in federal research grants,” Woychik said. “That’s a 9-to-1 return on investment and benefits all Maine people.”

Joyce Peterson, the lab’s spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the latest grants are going toward research groups that the lab already has in place. Some of the funding potentially could go toward creating new research positions within those existing groups, she said, but the funding is not expected to increase the number of jobs the lab hopes to create in the next several years.

Peterson said that, with the exception of $3.7 million that will go to senior staff scientist Simon John to study glaucoma, all of the grant money is going toward new projects. The largest amount, $16 million, is earmarked for a project led by Dr. Judith Blake to standardize scientific language used by researchers to describe biological systems.

“They are all brand-new projects,” she said.

Jackson Lab specializes in the study of mouse genetics, which closely resembles that of humans, to learn what causes human diseases and other medical disorders. It also is the home of the publicly available Mouse Genome Database information resource and breeds 3,000 strains of genetically distinct mice that are used by research institutions around the world.

Lab officials have said they hope eventually to expand the number of research groups working at the Route 3 campus from 36 to 55. By adding areas of scientific exploration, the lab hopes to achieve a critical mass of health research that will lead to cross-collaboration and technological breakthroughs.

Construction projects have been a constant sight at the lab for several years as the facility grows and increases the number of its employees. A new data center recently approved by local planners is expected to be added soon to give the lab much-needed space for its computer servers and to boost significantly its broadband Internet capacity, lab officials have said.


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