Summer 2007, Vol. 3, No. 3 | Index

I was happy to see so many of you earlier this month at the employee picnic. It was a fabulous way for all of us to celebrate the end of another great summer at the MBL. For those of you who couldn’t attend, I want to reiterate my appreciation for your hard work and dedication. The MBL’s most important asset is our people and thanks to the commitment of all of our staff, we continue to create a vibrant scientific environment that is truly unique.

In particular, I want to recognize our facilities crew, including staff in the Plant Operations and Maintenance and Building, Services, and Grounds departments, for their efforts to ensure that the nearly 300 scientists occupying the Rowe Laboratory were welcomed on schedule into their new labs. Your support was vital in making possible an exciting and productive summer for all of our Whitman Investigators.

While most of our summer visitors have returned to their home institutions, we continue to welcome scientists and students who are visiting the MBL as part of one of our fall conferences. As I write this letter more than four hundred scientists from 28 countries are gathering for the Molecular Parasitology Meeting, an annual event that brings together the top researchers, postdocs, and graduate students in the field of molecular parasitology. And in the coming months, the MBL will host a variety of other important scientific gatherings including a retreat of national and international leaders in cardiovascular research, the annual Research Update in Neuroscience for Neurosurgeons (RUNN), and a symposium on Harmful Algal Blooms.

I’m also pleased to report that next month the MBL will host a new advanced training course in human embryonic stem cell research. This intensive hands-on laboratory and lecture course, sponsored by the NIH and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is intended for clinical and fundamental investigators using human embryonic stem cells in their research and will cover fundamental basic biology through clinical trials evaluating these cells for therapeutic benefit.

So while summer of 2007 is behind us, it’s not too early to be thinking about next summer and beyond. Senior staff and I continue to work in conjunction with the Board of Trustees to chart the MBL’s course for the future. We remain committed to creating a sustainable business plan for the laboratory and are working to identify areas for strategic research investment. Closely tied to these endeavors is developing a roadmap for fundraising. As such, the MBL Board of Directors is currently reviewing the results of a feasibility study for a future fundraising initiative and we are awaiting their recommendations.

I look forward to sharing more information with you about these important developments in the future. And, once again, thank you all for your efforts on behalf of the MBL.

Gary Borisy

Director & CEO

The Collecting Net is an employee newsletter published by the Communications Office. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Call (508) 289-7423 or e-mail us at