Jackson Laboratory

The Jackson Laboratory has two research campuses, the Jackson Laboratory for Mammalian Genetics located in Bar Harbor, Maine, and the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine located in Farmington, Connecticut.{{cite web |title=Our Campuses & Communities |url=https://www.jax.org/about-us/our-campuses-and-communities |website=The Jackson Laboratory |language=en}} Each campus maintains affiliations with a variety of other academic institutions. In the Bar Harbor location, cooperative Ph.D. training is offered in conjunction with the University of Maine{{cite web |title=GSBSE @ JAX – Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering – University of Maine |url=https://gsbse.umaine.edu/jax/ |website=Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering}} and Tufts University.{{cite web |title=Neuro at JAX {{!}} Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences |url=https://gsbs.tufts.edu/academics/phd-programs/neuro-jax |website=gsbs tufts education}}{{cite web |title=Mammalian Genetics at JAX {{!}} Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences |url=https://gsbs.tufts.edu/academics/phd-programs/mammalian-genetics-jax |website=gsbs tufts education}} At the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, cooperative Ph.D. training is offered in conjunction with the University of Connecticut Health Center.

There are more than 60 faculty members maintaining independent labs across these campuses, who perform research in six primary areas:{{cite news |last1=Latter |first1=Carol |title=JAX Labs uses biomolecular modeling to advance patient health |url=https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/jax-labs-uses-biomolecular-modeling-to-advance-patient-health}}

• Cancer: The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center (JAXCC) has a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. Cancer areas of focus include: brain, leukemia, lung, lymphoma, prostate, breast; cancer initiation and progression; cancer prevention and therapies
• Development/reproductive biology: birth defects, Down syndrome, osteoporosis, fertility
• Immunology: HIV/AIDS, anemia, autoimmunity, cancer immunology, immune system disorders, lupus, tissue transplant rejection, vaccines
• Metabolic diseases: atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity
• Neurobiology: blindness, Alzheimer's, deafness, epilepsy, glaucoma, macular degeneration, neurodegenerative diseases
• Neurobehavioral disorders: autism, addiction, depression

The Jackson Laboratory was founded by Clarence Cook Little, a former University of Maine and University of Michigan president, in 1929 in Bar Harbor, Maine under the name Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory with the purpose of discovering the causes of cancer and other diseases through research on mammals.{{cite web |title=Jackson Laboratory {{!}} Bar Harbor, ME – Official Website |url=https://www.barharbormaine.gov/385/Jackson-Laboratory |website=barharbormaine government}}{{cite web|title=The Jackson Laboratory Milestones: 1900 – 1929 |work=The Jackson Laboratory Timeline |publisher=Jackson Laboratory |url=http://www.jax.org/about/timeline/1900.html |access-date=2006-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925162120/http://www.jax.org/about/timeline/1900.html |archive-date=2006-09-25 |url-status=dead }} The campus was built on {{convert|13|acre}} of land donated by George Dorr. Initial funding for the laboratory campus came from Edsel Ford, the son of Henry Ford, and from Roscoe B. Jackson, a one-time head of the Hudson Motor Car Company, for whom the institution is named.{{cite web|title=85 Years of Discovery |publisher=Jackson Laboratory |url=https://www.jax.org/news-and-insights/2014/november/85-years-of-discovery |access-date=2019-03-24}} As well as providing funds for the first laboratory building, Roscoe B. Jackson provided support for the first five years of operation.

The sale of mouse animal models began in 1933 with early sales to the United States Public Health Service and The Jackson Laboratory now provides a high proportion of the mice used in biomedical research {{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Mary |title=Laboratory Mice and Rats |website=Materials and Methods |language=en |date=8 July 2022}} In particular, the C57BL/6J strain, which is widely used and cited is maintained at The Jackson Laboratory.{{cite journal |last1=Griesemer |first1=James R. |last2=Gerson |first2=Elihu M. |title=Of mice and men and low unit cost |journal=Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences |date=1 June 2006 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=363–372 |doi=10.1016/j.shpsc.2006.03.005}} The demand for mice generated at The Jackson Lab increased in 1937 when the Surgeon General supported a grant from National Cancer Institute to the lab that made mice produced there a de facto industry standard due to federal standardization requirements because it was the only large-scale mouse provider before World War II.

The research performed at The Jackson Laboratory is associated with at least 26 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine via research, resources, or educational programming. Some notable findings from the institution include:

• Established that cancer is a genetic disorder, a novel concept before the Laboratory's founding in 1929.
• Dr. Leroy Stevens first described cells that can develop into different tissues – today known as stem cells.
• Dr. Elizabeth Russell performed the first bone marrow transplants in a mammal, leading to new treatments for blood and immunological diseases.{{Cite web |title=LittleSis: Jackson Laboratory |url=https://littlesis.org/entities/40330-Jackson_Laboratory |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=littlesis.}}
• Dr. George Snell won the Nobel Prize in 1980 for providing an in-depth understanding of the immune system's major histocompatibility complex, making organ transplants possible.
• Dr. Douglas L. Coleman discovered the hormone leptin, central to obesity and diabetes research, earning him the Shaw Prize, the Albert Lasker Award, the Gairdner International Award, Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine, and the King Faisal International Prize in Medicine.
• Use of cancer avatars – mice with implanted human tumors – to test targeted therapies for cancer patients.
• Recent research has provided insight into cancer stem cells and treatments for leukemia; progress with type 1 diabetes and lupus; and a breakthrough in extending mammalian life span.

File:Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine dedication ceremony (15284593318) (1).jpg

• A grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences funds the development of new computational tools to understand how multiple genes interact in complex diseases.
• The National Institute on Aging provides $25 million to develop new treatments, future therapies based on precision modeling.{{Cite web |title=National Institute on Aging funds new Alzheimer's disease center at Indiana University and The Jackson Laboratory |url=https://www.jax.org/intl/news-and-insights/2016/September/national-institute-on-aging-funds-new-alzheimers-disease-center |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=The Jackson Laboratory |language=en}}
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds phase 2 of the Knockout Mouse Production and Phenotyping Project (KOMP2).{{Cite web|url=https://www.jax.org/research-and-faculty/tools/knockout-mouse-project|title=Knockout Mouse Project (KOMP)|website=The Jackson Laboratory|language=en|access-date=2017-07-16}}
• Researchers link mutations to butterfly-shaped pigment dystrophy, an inherited macular disease.{{cite journal|title=Mutations in CTNNA1 cause butterfly-shaped pigment dystrophy and perturbed retinal pigment epithelium integrity|first1=Anneke I. den|last1=Hollander|first2=Patsy M.|last2=Nishina|first3=Carel B.|last3=Hoyng|first4=Neal S.|last4=Peachey|first5=Bart P.|last5=Leroy|first6=Ronald|last6=Roepman|first7=Camiel J. F.|last7=Boon|first8=Frans P. M.|last8=Cremers|first9=Francesca|last9=Simonelli|first10=Sandro|last10=Banfi|first11=Sophie|last11=Walraedt|first12=Elfride De|last12=Baere|first13=Sleiman|last13=Abu-Ltaif|first14=Tamara W. van|last14=Moorsel|first15=Kornelia|last15=Neveling|first16=Stef J.|last16=Letteboer|first17=Jeremy R.|last17=Charette|first18=Gayle B.|last18=Collin|first19=Lucy|last19=Rowe|first20=Lanying|last20=Shi|first21=Minzhong|last21=Yu|first22=Wanda|last22=Hicks|first23=Frederieke E.|last23=Schoenmaker-Koller|first24=Mark P.|last24=Krebs|first25=Nicole T. M.|last25=Saksens|date=1 February 2016|journal=Nature Genetics|volume=48|issue=2|pages=144–151|doi=10.1038/ng.3474|pmid=26691986|pmc=4787620}}
• Jackson Laboratory researchers discover mutation involved in neurodegeneration.{{Cite web |title=Jackson Laboratory researchers discover mutation involved in neurodegeneration |url=https://www.jax.org/news-and-insights/2015/October/mutation-leads-to-neurodegeneration |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=The Jackson Laboratory |language=en}}
• The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine opens in Farmington, Connecticut in October 2014.{{cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/health/hc-jackson-laboratory-20141002-story.html|title=Jackson Lab Opens To Big Hopes for Bioscience Growth|first=MATTHEW|last=STURDEVANT|website=Courant.com|date=2 October 2014 |access-date=23 June 2019}}
• In October 2020, it received a $11.8M USD grant from Harold Alfond Foundation.{{Cite web |date=2020-10-08 |title=Jackson Lab to get 11.8 million dollar grant for cancer research |url=https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/tech/science/jackson-lab-to-get-118-million-dollar-grant-for-cancer-research/97-b72863d1-b950-49e8-801c-d326fbdf0a04 |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=newscentermaine.com |language=en-US}}

The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center (JAXCC) first received its National Cancer Institute designation in 1983 in recognition of the foundational cancer research conducted there. The JAXCC is one of seven NCI-designated Cancer Centers with a focus on basic research.

The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center has a single program, Genetic Models for Precision Cancer Medicine, composed of three biological themes: cancer cell robustness, genomic and genetic complexity, and progenitor cell biology. The themes emphasize the systems genetics of cancer and translational cancer genomics, and all are supported by the JAX Cancer Center's technological initiatives in mouse modeling, genome analytics and quantitative cell biology.{{Cite web |date=2012-07-20 |title=The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center – NCI |url=https://www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers/find/jacksonlab |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=cancer.gov |language=en}}

On May 10, 1989, a flash fire destroyed the Morrell Park mouse production facility.

{{cite news

|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19890821&id=Ua9JAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0Q4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3376,1850890

|access-date= 2013-02-28

|title= Probable causes given for Jackson Lab fire

|first= Kathy

|last= Harbour

|journal= Bangor Daily News

|date= August 21, 1989

|page= 8

|edition= Hancock County

}} The fire lasted for five hours, requiring over 100 firefighters from 15 companies and a total of 16 trucks for the fire to be contained. Four workers of the Colwell Construction Company who were installing fiberglass wallboard in the room where the fire broke out were injured, one with burns over 15 percent of his body. While none of the foundation strains were lost, 300,000 production mice (about 50% of their stock) died, resulting in a national shortage of laboratory mice and the layoff of 60 employees.

{{cite journal

|url= http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/10480/title/Debris-Cleared--Jackson-Begins-Recovery-From-Fire/

|access-date= 2013-02-28

|title= Debris Cleared, Jackson Begins Recovery From Fire

|first= Judy

|last= Mathewson

|date= June 26, 1989

|journal= The Scientist

}}

This was the second fire to severely affect the laboratory; the 1947 fire that burned most of the island destroyed most of the laboratory, and its mice. Worldwide donations of funds and mice allowed the lab to resume operations in 1948.{{cite web |title=The Jackson Laboratory Milestones: 1940–1949 |url=http://www.jax.org/about/timeline/1940.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925162147/http://www.jax.org/about/timeline/1940.html |archive-date=2006-09-25 |access-date=2006-12-13 |work= |publisher=Jackson Laboratory}}

In October 2021, Jackson Lab bought Japan-based research animal business from Charles River Laboratories International for US$63 million.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-13 |title=Jackson Lab buys Japan-based research animal business for $63M |url=https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/jackson-lab-buys-japan-based-research-animal-business-for-63m |website=Mainebiz}}

• Hosts the Mouse Genome Informatics database{{cite journal |last1=Blake|first1=Judith A.|author-link1=Judith Blake (scientist)|last2=Bult|first2=Carol J.|last3=Kadin|first3=James A.|last4=Richardson|first4=Joel E.|last5=Eppig|first5=Janan T.|author6=The Mouse Genome Database Group|date=2011|title=The Mouse Genome Database (MGD): premier model organism resource for mammalian genomics and genetics|journal = Nucleic Acids Res.|volume=39|issue=Database issue|pages=D842-8|location = England| pmid = 21051359|doi = 10.1093/nar/gkq1008| pmc =3013640 }}

The Jackson Laboratory is recognized by the IRS as a public charity.{{cite web | type=search results | url=https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/mainSearch.do?mainSearchChoice=pub78&dispatchMethod=selectSearch | id=EIN 01-0211513 | title=Exempt Organizations Select Check | access-date=December 14, 2014 | publisher=IRS }} According to organization literature, revenue comes primarily from the sale of materials and services (~70%) and from government support (~25%).{{cite web | url=http://www.jax.org/annual-report-2012.pdf | title=2012 Annual Report | access-date=December 14, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001193009/http://www.jax.org/annual-report-2012.pdf | archive-date=October 1, 2013 | url-status=dead }} Less than 5% of 2012 revenue came from charitable donations.

• Edison Liu
• Nadia Rosenthal
• Charles Lee
• Muriel Davisson
• George Weinstock
• Leroy Stevens
• Elizabeth Russell
• George Snell

In 2013, a jury in Maine found that Jackson Laboratory did not violate that state's whistleblower protection law when they fired an employee who claimed to have been terminated after reporting her concerns about the treatment of animals to the National Institutes of Health Office for Laboratory Animal Welfare. The worker accused the laboratory of "allowing mice to suffer and then die in their cages instead of euthanizing them" and of cutting off the toes of mice to identify them. Jackson Laboratory denied the allegations and stated the worker was fired for her confrontational demeanor.{{cite news|last1=Trotter|first1=Bill|title=Former worker who accused Jackson Lab of mistreating mice loses whistleblower lawsuit|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2013/06/03/news/hancock/former-worker-who-accused-jackson-lab-of-mistreating-mice-loses-whistleblower-lawsuit/|access-date=6 August 2015|publisher=BDN Maine|date=3 June 2013}}

In 2009, Jackson Laboratory was fined $161,680 by the EPA for improperly handling and storing hazardous materials.{{cite news|last1=Trotter|first1=Bill|title=Jackson Laboratory to pay $161,680 EPA fine|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2009/04/02/news/jackson-laboratory-to-pay-161680-epa-fine/|access-date=6 August 2015|agency=Bangor Daily News|date=2 April 2009}}

• Highseas, a former Bar Harbor summer estate owned by the laboratory
• Animal Testing

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Category:Buildings and structures in Bar Harbor, Maine

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