Leading Research and Media Communicator Joins Board of Trustees
MDI Biological Laboratory has appointed Jennifer K. Benz to its Board of Trustees, adding a nationally recognized voice in science communication and public affairs research to the institution's governance.
Continue ReadingA 50-Year Quest Motivated by a Question
MDI Bio Lab Associate Professor James A. Coffman addressed the largest-ever Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium, held April 24–25, 2026. As the Director of the Maine IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), his keynote speech touched on what evolution can teach us about regeneration, aging and human health.
Continue ReadingFrom Student to Scientist: My INBRE Fellowship Journey
Georgia Burton is an international student from Jamaica, enrolled at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Her experience at MDI Biological Laboratory started with a short course in January 2025, and was followed with an INBRE Fellowship that summer.
Continue ReadingA Home for MDI Bioscience: Neal Lab Renovation Begins
The first permanent structure that MDI Biological Laboratory built on Frenchman Bay will host the Lab's translational science and entrepreneurial initiative
Continue ReadingEchoes Beyond the Lab
It was surreal for Matthew DeBerge, Ph.D., to step into the auditorium at the MDI Biological Laboratory this fall. Nearly twenty years ago, he had sat in that same room as an undergraduate, notebooks in hand, wide-eyed with curiosity, excitement and a touch of nerves. Back then, he was a summer fellow, fully immersed in experiments that linked Maine’s coastal fieldwork to lab-based discoveries. This fall, he returned as an invited speaker for the Immuno-Cardiology Symposium, an event co-hosted by MDI Bio Lab and The Jackson Laboratory, presenting his research on inflammation, fibrosis and cardiovascular disease.
Continue ReadingThis is Why: Full Circle Stories
Whether they began here as students, researchers or staff, many discover that the MDI Bio Lab’s sense of curiosity, collaboration and community stays with them. Matthew Cox, Markus Sujansky and Celeste Nobrega share what brought them back — and how working together in the Comparative Genomics and Data Science Core has brought their journeys full circle.
Continue ReadingMDI Bio Lab Launches New Study of PFAS Health Effects on Families and Children
PFAS “forever chemicals” can be found in many consumer and industrial products, from non-stick cookware to stain-resistant carpeting and firefighting foam. They persist in the environment and in our bodies, while exposure to them has been associated with various health issues.
Continue ReadingMDI Bio Lab’s Elisabeth Marnik Is One of Maine’s “40 Under 40” Leaders
The state’s premier business publication, Mainebiz, on Monday released its fourth annual list of "40 Under 40" honorees, among them MDI Biological Laboratory’s Science Education and Outreach Director, Elisabeth Marnik, Ph.D.
Continue Reading