The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, a non-profit biomedical research institution with an expanding year-round research program, seeks support for construction of a 13,267 sq. ft. laboratory building to promote collaborative multidisciplinary research among NIH-funded investigators, provide space to recruit additional NIH-funded investigators, and advance research training of undergraduate, graduate and medical students, and postdoctoral fellows. The building will house laboratories, core facilities, and research support space necessary for full development of the nation's first Center for Marine Functional Genomic Studies (CMFGS), NIH-funded research programs within CMFGS, and Maine's IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) in comparative functional genomics. MDIBL is dedicated to basic biomedical research using marine organisms as model systems and has a long-standing, world-renowned seasonal research program. With support from the Laboratory's leadership, MDIBL is expanding its year-round research efforts. In 1999, we had 4 federal grants with $2.7M of total (direct and indirect) project funding ($2.3M from NIH). Today, we have 10 federal grants with total project funding of $30M ($24.2M from NIH), and serve as lead institution in Maine's IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence. The new building, the first since 1972, is critical to providing year-round space without diminishing MDIBL's robust summer research. Expansion of MDIBL's research infrastructure and year-round biomedical research is an institutional and state priority. Matching funds have been secured through a state bond for development of Maine's biomedical research and through private philanthropy.
