The Jackson Laboratory

Year

Highlight

2001

Tatyana Golovkina discovers that I/LnJ mice—first derived by L.C. Strong at Jackson in 1926—are impervious to mammary tumors caused by retrovirus infections.

2002

A draft of the mouse genome is published in Nature by the publicly supported Mouse Genome Sequencing Consortium, including Jackson scientists Carol Bult and Wayne Frankel.

2002

The laboratories of Jürgen Naggert and Patsy Nishina announce the first human gene discovered at The Jackson Laboratory. A mutation in the gene, ALMS1, causes Alström syndrome, a very rare condition but with implications for understanding common human conditions including obesity and diabetes.

2002

Susan Ackerman and colleagues pinpointed the molecular basis for why a particular strain of mice is a useful model for late-onset neurodegenerative disease, suggesting an emerging hypothesis for Alzheimer's disease.

2003

David Serreze leads a team that develops a way to protect engrafted pancreatic beta cells in diabetic mice, opening the possibility of reversing type 1 diabetes without putting patients on immunosuppressive drugs.

2004

Barbara Knowles and Jackson Laboratory colleagues shed light on the genetic events that help orchestrate changes at the earliest stages of life, when mammalian eggs are fertilized and become embryos.

2004

Jackson researchers led by Derry Roopenian identify a novel therapeutic target, FcRn, for treating autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

2005

Simon John and Douglas Gould discover a genetic link to porencephaly, a rare but devastating neurological condition in newborns that weakens blood vessels in the brain.

2005

Research in Beverly Paigen’s lab led by Xiaosong Wang identifies gene that increases susceptibility to high-fat diet-induced atherosclerosis.

2006

Employing the unprecedented resolution of the 4Pi microscope, researchers led by Joerg Bewersdorf are able to visualize the initial cellular response—“first aid”—to DNA damage.

2006

Shaoguang Li and colleagues discover a reason why some patients do not respond well to Gleevec, a drug that has dramatically improved clinical treatment of many leukemias. Li also isolates leukemic stem cells in the mouse for the first time.

2007

Bo Chang collaborates with colleagues at the University of Florida to use gene therapy to restore sight in mice with achromatopsia, a form of hereditary blindness.

2007

David Serreze receives the Gerold & Kayla Grodsky Basic Research Scientist Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Dr. John Eppig receives the Pioneer in Reproduction Research Award from the Frontiers in Reproduction Research Program.

2009

2009

Year

Highlight

1960s

Jackson's Elizabeth Russell pioneers the use of bone marrow transplantation to cure a blood disorder in a mouse.

1966

Douglas Coleman initiates a series of landmark experiments, postulating in 1973 that the ob mouse has a genetic defect in its "satiety factor" and that the db (diabetes) mouse has a genetic defect in its "satiety center." His theories led to the successful cloning of the genes behind the ob and db defects by researchers at Rockefeller University in 1995.

1971

Donald Bailey develops the first recombinant inbred strains of mice by crossing two inbred strains. The resulting mice prove useful for genetic mapping and gene hunting.

1978

Eva Eicher, Wes Whitten and Wesley Beamer publish a report on the BALB/c strain as the first animal model for some human sex chromosome abnormalities.

1984

Joseph Nadeau and Ben Taylor's analysis of 83 genes in mice and humans indicates that the mouse genome is an extremely good model for the human genome—but with 150 rearrangements.

1990s

A team, led by Dr. Leonard Shultz, successfully transplants human immune system cells into the scid (severe combined immune deficiency) mouse, generating an important new model for AIDS research.

1990s

Dr. Simon John develops the first mouse models for glaucoma.

1990s

Dr. Wesley Beamer and colleagues discovered genetic variability in adult bone density among different kinds of mice. For the first time, researchers were able to use a range of new mouse models for osteoporosis research.

1990s

1991

Encyclopedia of the Mouse Genome software published.

1995

Mouse Genome Database established at The Jackson Laboratory.

1995

With colleagues at Johns Hopkins, Muriel Davisson publishes findings on the Down syndrome mouse model she developed.

1996

John Eppig publishes breakthrough research on the world's first mammals produced using primordial oocytes taken from newborn mice and grown and fertilized completely outside the body.

   Year

Highlight

1908

William Castle opens Harvard's Bussey Institution, where many early mouse geneticists, including Clarence Cook Little, get their start.

1909

C.C. Little begins to develop the first inbred mouse strain, designated DBA for dilute, brown, and non-agouti.

1921

Using a pair of black mice from the Granby farm, C.C. Little develops the C57BL and C57BR strains. C57BL/6J (“Black Six”) will become the world’s most essential inbred strain.

1935

The first successful transfer of fertilized ova is achieved by Elizabeth Fekete.

1936

Jackson Laboratory researchers (in the world's first group publication) announce the first link between cancer and viruses in mammals. This leads to the discovery of a cancer-causing virus passed through breast milk, a key finding for the later understanding of oncogenes and cancer. 

1937

Peter Gorer shows in mouse studies at Jackson that transplant rejection is primarily governed by what he calls the H2 genetic locus, later described as the major histocompatibility complex, a key component of immunity. 

1940s

The first successful transplantations of ovaries between female mice are performed by Dr. William Russell. 

Late 1940s

George Snell develops congenic strains of mice—identical but for a small chromosomal segment—by breeding for differences only at the H2 locus. This opens new areas of immunological research and earns Snell a Nobel Prize in 1980. 

1950

The obese (ob) mouse is discovered by Margaret Dickie. The first animal model for obesity, the mouse later proves to have a key mutation in the leptin gene. 

1954

Leroy Stevens develops an ovary transplant procedure that enables mutant strains to be propagated even if the mutation prevents the animal from living long enough to reach reproductive age. 

1958

Margaret Green starts a card-file database of mouse linkages and loci, forming the foundation of the Mouse Genome Database. Eventually, the National Institutes of Health begins supporting the database.