Top 10 Jackson news stories for 2008

Date: December 31, 2008
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#10: Three new scientists join The Jackson Laboratory: Cancer researchers Rick Maser, Ph.D., and Chengkai Dai, M.D., Ph.D., and computer scientist Matthew Hibbs, Ph.D., all joined The Jackson Laboratory’s scientific staff in 2008. The Laboratory is currently undertaking a major research expansion, growing from 36 research groups to 45 over the next 3-5 years.

#9: Jackson awarded $4.7 million in Maine state funds for technology development: The Jackson Laboratory received a $4.7 million Maine Technology Asset Fund grant from the Maine Technology Institute to expand technology capabilities, strengthen research services offerings, and make commercialization opportunities for new technologies available to Maine businesses.

#8: Jackson scientists announce mouse sperm cryopreservation breakthrough: A team of Jackson Laboratory scientists have figured out a simple, cost-effective process to freeze mouse sperm and get it to achieve high fertilization and recovery rates with mouse eggs. The breakthrough enables scientists worldwide to manage mouse colonies in a new way, greatly reducing husbandry costs and the number of animals used in biomedical research.

#7: NY gala raises $1.3M, brings out stars: Stars of Hollywood, music and the science world came together at The Jackson Laboratory's first National Gala at New York's Pierre Hotel on Sept. 18. The event, co-hosted by Maine business leader David Shaw and his wife, actress Glenn Close, included a performance by music legend James Taylor and raised more than $1.3 million to support young Jackson investigators. Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, who joined the Laboratory’s Board of Directors this year, and biotech investor Tony Evnin received Lifetime Achievement Awards.

#6: International microscope technology breakthrough announced: Dr. Joerg Bewersdorf and his Jackson Laboratory biophysics team developed a new microscope technology and announced their achievement of unprecedented resolution. Officially named BP FPALM (for biplane fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy), the instrument demonstrated 3D resolution of  30 nanometers (nm) laterally and 75 nm axially. (A nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter.)

#5: Jackson scientists pinpoint a gene mechanism in aging: New evidence may explain how genes age. A report in the journal Cell by researchers at Harvard Medical School, The Jackson Laboratory and other institutions reveals that a protein perhaps best known for its role in the life-extending benefits of a low-calorie diet also maintains the stability of the mammalian genome--the complete set of genetic instructions "written" in DNA.

#4: Laboratory at the top of state, national rankings: In 2008, The Jackson Laboratory ranked high in national and state rankings, including  the top 100 U.S. Institutions for NIH funding, in the top 20 U.S. “Best Places to Work in Academia” and “Best Places to Work for Postdocs”, and the “Maine 100” listing of the top organizations headquartered in Maine.

#3: Professor Simon John recognized among nation’s most innovative scientists: Glaucoma researcher Simon W.M. John, Ph.D., a Jackson Laboratory professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator, was selected among only eight scientists in the nation to head HHMI’s new Collaborative Innovation Awards projects. In 2008 Dr. John was also awarded a $1.25 million grant from The Partridge Foundation, a John and Polly Guth Charitable Fund, and was one of seven scientists to receive a $100,000 Alcon Research Institute award.

#2: 21 Nobel Prizes now linked with Jackson research and resources: The 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology was awarded to Harald zur Hausen of the German Cancer Research Centre for discovery of human papilloma virus causing cervical cancer. In 1994 The Jackson Laboratory's Dr. John Sundberg collaborated with Dr. zur Hausen in sequencing the dog oral papillomavirus, work that was essential to the Nobel-winning research. Another 19 Nobel prizes are associated with Jackson research and resources.

#1: HIV suppressed by novel therapy in first-ever animal model: A research team including Jackson Laboratory Professor Leonard Shultz, Ph.D., has successfully suppressed HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in the world's first animal model to mirror the progression of HIV in humans. The findings suggest a promising new approach to treating or even preventing HIV infection.

Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058

For information on automatic email delivery of news releases (journalists only), please send an email request for details to news@jax.org. Please address other inquiries to pubinfo@jax.org.

Media Relations, Communications Office
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6058 (journalists only)
Main Jackson Laboratory phone: 207-288-6000
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org