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V O L . X X V I I N O. I JA N UA R Y 1 1 , 2 0 2 1 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Members are supporting digital servic- es, volunteer management, outreach, planning, research, database develop- ment and community engagement. KeyBank in Portland announced that it donated $30,000 to support the Maine community through its KeyBank Assists 3.0 campaign. Baker Newman Noyes, an account- ing and consulting firm in Portland, partnered with Ruth's Reusable Resources in Portland to donate 140 firm computers and accessories that have been retired from service to the 3Rs Computer Re-Life Program. The Greater Portland Board of Realtors said that its online auction, Habitat for the Holidays, raised $25,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland. Award cites change to two-way street in Augusta's downtown A street reconstruction that turned around a 70-year traffic pattern and opened downtown Augusta in a way that hadn't been seen for more than a generation has been recognized as "Project of the Year" by the Maine Association of Planners. Water Street, which was converted to two-way traffic to encourage more downtown activity, had been one-way since 1947. Partners named in the award are the city of Augusta development services, public works and city manager's office; Maine Traffic Resources, of Gardiner, which did an extensive feasibility analysis; and Desman Design Management, which undertook a downtown parking study as part of the project. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N The University of Maine at Farmington was awarded a $200,000, two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help fund a Virtual Global Classrooms Project. The university also said it re- ceived a National Science Foundation grant of $96,377 to engage rural stu- dents with disabilities in science, tech- nology, engineering and math learning through accessible makerspaces. The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kennebec Valley in Gardiner received a $25,000 B I Z M O N E Y JAX's 2020 funding exceeds $100M B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f B a r H a r b o r — Jackson Laboratory capped off a strong 2020, saying it was awarded over $100 million in new federal, peer-reviewed foundation and other grant funding. Over the year, the 200-plus awards covered a broad range of the independent nonprofit biomedical research institu- tion's focus areas, including Alzheimer's disease and aging, respiratory conditions and COVID-19, cancer, rare disease and cardiovascular diseases, the nonprofit said. Examples of JAX's 2020 funding and achievements include the following. Respiratory conditions and COVID-19 $1.1 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases as a supplement to an $11 million grant from the institute awarded in 2019, to focus on understanding the specific mechanisms of coronavirus infection and provide a foundation for therapy and vac- cine development and refinement. Gifts from Tailwinds Foundation and Progress Charitable Foundation to develop mouse strains that reflect human genetic diversity for research into COVID-19 infection. JAX provided COVID-19 testing services for over 80 part- ner institutions in Maine and Connecticut. In addition, as COVID-19 impacted research activities around the world, JAX mounted a rescue effort through cryopreservation services to help scientists facing shutdowns and ensure research continuity. Alzheimer's disease and aging research JAX is home to one of only six National Institute on Aging- funded Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, focused on investigating the mechanisms of mammalian aging. The center recently received fund- ing renewal of $5.3 million over the next five years to continue its work. The National Institutes of Health awarded a three-year, $6.3 million contract to support the engineering and distribution of mutant stem cell lines useful for research into Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Cancer research A $2.5 million grant from the Mark Foundation will fund research into the genetics that underlie responses to immunotherapies, using genetically diverse JAX mouse models. The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center had its National Cancer Institute designation renewed for another five years. The center is one of seven basic research centers in the United States with this designation. The National Cancer Institute awarded a five-year, $1.9 million grant for research into tumor microenvironments. The National Cancer Institute awarded an exploratory $1.2 million grant to fund development of new genomic approaches and tools for cancer genome research. Rare diseases JAX's Center for Precision Genetics received a five-year, $10.6 million grant to develop a large-scale, multidis- ciplinary research program to find treatments for rare genetic diseases. A JAX team published results of 2019 study that sent JAX's Mighty Mice (genetically engineered mice that lack myostatin and therefore display increased muscle mass) to space to provide insights into the role myostatin plays in muscle and bone loss, which is suspected to have implications for future astronauts, the elderly or people who are bed-ridden, and those with diseases and condi- tions associated with muscle-wasting. The findings have implications for possible therapeutic strategies. A seven-year, $2.8 million Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke supports investigation of gene mutations that cause diseases of the peripheral nervous system. Cardiovascular diseases A four-year National Institutes of Health award of approxi- mately $3 million supports genomic studies related to cardiovascular disease. JAX is participating in an international research collabo- ration, funded by a five-year, $6.5 million award from the Paris-based Leducq Foundation, to investigate immune regulation of cardiac fibrosis. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y JA C K S O N L A BO R AT O R Y JPM) is making progress with its planned retail banking rollout in southern Maine, securing a second branch location in Falmouth in addi- tion to one in downtown Portland. e company plans to open a total of five branches in southern Maine by the end of 2022. e Portland branch, at 480 Congress St. just off of Monument Square, is set to open in June. In Falmouth, JPMorgan plans to open a branch at 251 U.S. Route 1 in the first quarter of 2022, a Boston- based spokeswoman told Mainebiz. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N The Greater Portland Council of Governments said it is partnering with AmeriCorps to bring 14 AmeriCorps members to the region to help nonprof- it agencies and municipal governments Jackson Lab, based in Bar Harbor, received over $100 million across more than 200 grants last year. C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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