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V O L . X X X I N O. V M A R C H 1 0 , 2 0 2 5 12 L I F E S C I E N C E S / I N N OVAT I O N F O C U S Additional awards A $6 million grant renewal from NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences increases researchers' access to the lab's light microscopy facility's magnification and image-process- ing infrastructure. Last summer, scientists outfitted a laser-based 3D microscope with virtual reality features, allowing users to magnify, view, measure and move around molecular structures of whole organisms as if from the inside. e grant also widens access to the lab's data science facilities, improves outreach to Maine communities and establishes a paid internship program for animal care. $1.6 million in congressionally directed spending for the lab's entrepreneurial initiative, MDI Bioscience, which develops emerg- ing drug discovery technologies. e funding supports renovation and construction of additional campus space and related equipment pur- chases. e work is underway. e lab said NIH's 15% cap on reimbursements for support services for direct biomedical research, while stayed for the moment, "remains a major threat to MDI Biological Laboratory's mission to make life- changing discoveries for human health while training a new genera- tion of science leaders." e cap would decrease a typical year's grant support by 27%, including sub-awards to Maine INBRE part- ners and others. e measure would slow, and in some cases could end, front-line bio- medical research projects; limit train- ing opportunities for college students and early-career scientists; and imperil job stability, the lab said. Downeast Institute's capital campaign underway to build affordable housing Downeast Institute, a marine research laboratory on Great Wass Island in the Washington County town of Beals, launched the public phase of a campaign to raise $4 million in support of the institute's housing, operations and other capital priorities. "e campaign is going slowly but surely," said Dianne Tilton, the institute's executive director. A goal is to build affordable housing for staff and visiting researchers. "Our facility is primed to host some really great research, whether it's sci- entists who come for the summer or a scientist who wants to move here," said Tilton. But housing is critical. e institute recently interviewed a researcher for an open position. "But it's daunting to move here and not be able to find housing," she said. "is will help with our efforts to recruit and retain employees." In 2023, the institute acquired 10 acres, with five abandoned cabins, close to campus. As of mid-February, the campaign raised $277,000 toward the Phase I goal of $900,000 needed to complete the acquisition. e plan is to develop the parcel into a housing campus, recruit new permanent staff and expand community outreach by Dec. 31, 2027. Construction would include tearing down and rebuilding at least two of the cabins and renovating the others and a guesthouse on the property. To that end, Phase II's goal is an additional $3.1 million. So far, the cam- paign received a $500,000 grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission. An environmental review is under- way. "We have architect's renderings and are getting a professional estimate so we are ready to go out to bid when our environmental review is finished," said Tilton. James Fahy Design Associates in Rochester, N.Y., was hired for the proj- ect. A general contractor will be selected when the project goes out to bid. In today's uncertain federal funding climate, Tilton said, the institute hasn't seen effects as far as existing grants. But there's concern about what will become of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, since Sea Grant, its federal-university partnership program, and its Saltonstall-Kennedy Research and Development Program, which assists fishery marketing and research needs, have been funding sources for the institute in the past. e institute began as a collabora- tion in 1987. In 2018, it built an expanded $6.6 million marine research laboratory and education center and residence hall. Today the institute has 14 staffers. Jackson Lab's $33M expansion to enhance research capacity Jackson Laboratory — a nonprofit biomedical research institution head- quartered in Bar Harbor — has a construction project underway to build a 21,000-square-foot, two-story expan- sion at its Bar Harbor campus. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E MDI Bio Lab President Hermann Haller demonstrates pipetting techniques with Colby College students at a 2024 INBRE course on the lab's Bar Harbor campus. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y M D I B I O L A B In a state like Maine with a small population and a vast geography, it's our willingness to work together that makes us competitive in the global biomedical world, that helps us to punch above our weight. — Hermann Haller MDI Bio Lab Downeast Institute's main campus is at the top and the 10-acre housing development is at the bottom. Downeast Institute's housing campus will include new and renovated cabins. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y D OW N E A S T I N S T I T U T E R E N D E R I N G / C O U R T E S Y JA M E S FA H Y D E S I G N A S S O C I AT E S

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