Two Mount Desert Island laboratories will receive nearly $3 million in state funding as part of a research and development bond that was approved by Maine voters.
The Jackson Laboratory is set to receive $2 million in grants, which will be matched with $3.4 million in institutional funding, to build a “state-of-the-art Humanized Mouse Model Production Facility,” according to a Maine Technology Institute summary of the project.
The Jackson Laboratory will renovate an existing building on its Bar Harbor campus to build the facility, which will expand the lab’s production of mouse models for research on immunology, oncology and infection diseases, according to the summary. Jackson Lab specializes in using mice to study human disease and illness, and it breeds specialty strains of the rodents that are used in biomedical research around the world.
The Jackson Laboratory did not respond to inquiries from the Bangor Daily News. It was not clear if the project is expected to fund new jobs.
The MDI Biological Laboratory will receive $960,000 from MTI for its translational research arm, MDI Bioscience. The lab will use the funds to modernize an existing facility, adding new animal husbandry and procedure space, the summary says.
Among other projects, the award will further research on new therapeutic compounds derived from marine algae, an initiative with the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Services in Boothbay.
“Thanks to the voter approved Research and Development bond that Maine voters approved in 2024, this investment is strengthening the state’s research capacity at a critical moment,” said Hermann Haller, president of the MDI Biological Laboratory “The award will enable the modernization of infrastructure for our MDI Bioscience initiative to accelerate the translation of fundamental research discoveries into new approaches to real-world health challenges.”
Research at MDI Bio Lab focuses on regenerative processes in the animal kingdom, with the goal of learning how those biological processes might translate to human health.
The Jackson Laboratory and MDI Biological Laboratory were among 23 businesses and research institutions operating across nine Maine counties to receive a total of $25 million in awards from the Maine Technology Institute, a publicly funded nonprofit that administers the bond’s funding, state officials said.
The funding is part of the Maine Technology Asset Fund, a program administered by MTI on behalf of the state, that supports organizations across Maine through investments in infrastructure, technology and equipment. Each award was matched by a private investor.
The bond program is expected to “support the generation” of 1,233 new jobs and the retention of 2,718 positions, according to Gov. Janet Mills’ office.