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For further information, contact the MBL Communications Office at (508) 289-7423 or e-mail us at comm@mbl.edu
For Immediate Release: November 24, 2009
Contacts:
Gina Hebert, MBL, (508) 289-7725, ghebert@mbl.edu
Angus McQuilken, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, (617) 921-7749; amcquilken@MassLifeSciences.com
Lieutenant Governor Murray Joins Marine Biological Laboratory for Announcement of Federal Stimulus Funding in Life Sciences
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Photos:
Click on thumbnails for high-resolution images.
Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. Photo by David Gallagher
MBL Director and CEO Gary Borisy at the podium.
Seated, L to R: Susan Windham-Bannister, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, State Representative Timothy Madden, State Senator Robert O’Leary, and Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. Photo by Tom Kleindinst
Touring the Loeb Laboratory
From L to R: State Representative Timothy Madden, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Susan Windham-Bannister, MBL Director of Facilities Richard Cutler, MBL Director and CEO Gary Borisy, State Senator Robert O’Leary, and Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. Photo by Pam Wilmot
Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, Susan Windham-Bannister, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Gary Borisy, MBL Director and CEO, and State Senator Robert O’Leary learn about the regenerative qualities of marine organisms from MBL Associate Scientist Alan Kuzirian. Photo by Tom Kleindinst
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MBL, WOODS HOLE, MA—The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) $802,500 in federal stimulus funds to support the recruitment of scientists specializing in regenerative biology. This emerging field seeks to define the natural processes by which damaged tissues and organs can regenerate and then apply that knowledge to developing medical therapies.
The grant, announced by MBL Director and CEO Gary Borisy at a press conference with Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, Susan Windham-Bannister, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, State Senator Robert O’Leary, and Representative Timothy Madden, and other local officials, is an important step toward establishing an initiative in Regenerative Biology and Medicine at the MBL. The effort has received widespread support from the Commonwealth, including a $10 million grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to fund renovations to MBL’s Loeb Laboratory, matched by a $15 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Marine organisms, a continued focus of MBL studies, hold great promise as research models for this work and for advancing human health, particularly now that it is possible to decode their genomes. “The physical and intellectual infrastructure investments already made at the MBL position it to launch a new initiative in regenerative biology,” said Borisy. “The missing element is a critical mass of individuals focused on this area. This NIH support is vital for recruiting two individuals who, with existing MBL scientists, will accelerate the MBL’s program in Regenerative Biology and Medicine. We are grateful for this investment in our leadership role in this important area of life sciences research made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”
The MBL also announced that the NIH is providing $557,000 for the Laboratory’s intensive Frontiers in Stem Cells and Regeneration training course, designed for young scientists, physicians, and established investigators seeking comprehensive training in research strategies and state-of-the-art approaches for advancing regeneration and regenerative medicine research.
During his visit, Lieutenant Governor Murray toured the Loeb Laboratory, home to the Frontiers in Stem Cells and Regeneration course and other world-renowned MBL training programs. The facility is currently undergoing renovations funded by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The new, modern laboratories and office space will serve as the headquarters for the MBL’s program in Regenerative Biology and Medicine.
Lieutenant Governor Murray also toured the MBL’s Marine Resources Center, a 32,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility for maintaining, breeding, and culturing marine and other aquatic organisms that will be the physical home for the cultivation of model organisms used to study regenerative biology.
“As we continue to strengthen the Commonwealth’s role as a global leader in life sciences, the project at the Marine Biological Laboratory reflects a strong public/private partnership that will lead to the establishment of the new Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine at the Laboratory,” said Lieutenant Governor Murray. “The federal stimulus grant will bolster one of our state’s leading research institutions, while also creating jobs and advancing scientific knowledge.”
“This grant funding will continue Massachusetts’s growing leadership in regenerative medicine, an expanding area of scientific inquiry that holds enormous promise for improving human health,” said Susan Windham-Bannister. “The Life Sciences Center’s partnership with MBL continues to generate private and federal investment that is cultivating our state’s life sciences Supercluster.”
“In 2008 I was proud to support the Governor’s Life Science Bill, and help recognize some of the amazing contributions to science made here on the Cape,” said State Senator Robert O’Leary. “We are lucky to have some of the best aquatic research institutions in the world in Woods Hole and Cape Cod, and supporting them also supports our local economies, our communities, and exciting new scientific technologies and discoveries that could one day improve the lives of people around the world.”
“Over the years, the scientists here at the MBL have put Woods Hole on the map as a major force in life sciences research, and I am glad to see their efforts encouraged and enhanced with the awarding of these funds,” added Representative Timothy Madden. “I wish the MBL the best in their research, and I am excited to see the life-changing discoveries that will come out of here in the years to come. Additionally, the MBL should be very pleased with its administrative staff for actively pursuing these all important grants, that are so vital and hard to come by.”
“This is medicine’s next frontier with huge promise for those who have suffered enormously. Massachusetts should be the country’s leader in regenerative medicine and this investment will empower us to recruit the best scientists in the field,” added U.S. Senator John Kerry.
“These funds will help to ensure that the Marine Biological Laboratory will have the resources it needs to be a national leader in the exciting new field of regenerative medicine,” said Senator Paul G. Kirk, Jr. “Massachusetts has long been at the forefront of health research, and the work done here has immense potential for 21st century medicine.”
The MBL is a leading international, independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to discovery and to improving the human condition through creative research and education in the biological, biomedical and environmental sciences. Founded in 1888 as the Marine Biological Laboratory, the MBL is the oldest private marine laboratory in the Americas. For more information, visit www.MBL.edu.
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