Victor A. McKusick, M.D. 1921-2008

The Jackson Laboratory lost a distinguished colleague and beloved friend this summer. Victor A. McKusick, M.D., widely known as the "father of medical genetics," died on July 22, 2008. He was 86.

Dr. McKusick was University Professor of Medical Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Today's research emphasis on the relationships between genes and disease is based on his fundamental approach to studying disease. A Maine native, Dr. McKusick had deep ties with The Jackson Laboratory and was a co-founder of the renowned Short Course on Medical and Experimental Mammalian Genetics held at the Laboratory each summer for the last 49 years.

"Victor McKusick's seminal contributions in genetics, medicine and education have simply become synonymous with excellence in biomedicine," said Jackson Laboratory Director Richard Woychik, Ph.D. "He was also a genuine soul who cared deeply about people and was a generous teacher and mentor to thousands of students, scientists and physicians. We will miss him greatly."

Cancer and aging researcher joins Laboratory

Rick Maser, Ph.D., joined the staff as an assistant professor in June. Dr. Maser completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School, where he studied telomeres, structures that cap the end of chromosomes and play significant roles in both cancer and aging. His work is expected to contribute to the Laboratory's National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center program as well as the Jackson Aging Center.

Dr. Maser is excited about launching his career at the Laboratory and working with the faculty here, noting that, "The colleagues I will be working with are among the best in the world for using the mouse as a model for human disease."

Jackson named a top place for postdocs

The Scientist ranked The Jackson Laboratory ninth among U.S. research institutions in its 2008 survey to identify the best places for postdoctoral associates to work. More than 2,400 postdocs participated in the survey, which measured a wide range of factors such as quality of institutional training, facilities and funding, plus quality-of-life issues.

In an accompanying article, Jackson Laboratory Director Rick Woychik, Ph.D., noted that postdocs benefit from the Laboratory's lack of departmental silos and availability of first-class scientific services. Other areas receiving high marks in the survey were access to training, travel and research grants as well as the helpfulness of the Laboratory's postdoctoral support staff.

The genesis of genomics

Genomics—the study of the structure, function and evolution of the entire genome—is a relatively young field. These days "genomics" is a widely used term, but during the early days of genome studies in the mid-1980s, the field of study didn't even have a proper name.

Enter Thomas Roderick, Ph.D., now retired from The Jackson Laboratory. Socializing with colleagues afterhours at a scientific conference, Dr. Roderick, Victor McKusick, M.D., and Frank Ruddle, Ph.D., were among those discussing possible titles for a new journal. Dr. Roderick made his fateful suggestion — Genomics — rather late in the proceedings, perhaps inspired by the muse of barley and hops. Nonetheless, the term appeared shortly thereafter in an article by Dr. McKusick and Dr. Ruddle in the first issue of Genomics in 1987, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Biplane microscopy

Joerg Bewersdorf, Dr. rer. nat., and his team at The Jackson Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Maine, want to see proteins and substructures within living cells. They are now closer than ever with the recently announced biplane (Nature Methods, May 11, 2008), a technique that allows resolution down to 30nm x 75nm. (A nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter.)

Officially named BP FPALM (biplane fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy), biplane uses existing fluorescent probe methods to investigate a variety of biological structures with previously unheard-of resolution and clarity. And it comes packaged in a robust, compact design, making unprecedented 3D light microscopy resolution straightforward to implement.

Jackson employees reach out

In the wake of the recent devastating earthquakes in China, The Jackson Laboratory rallied to help, led by organizer Lei Wu, a software engineer. The Chinese community at the Laboratory and throughout Mount Desert Island held an "Authentic Chinese Takeout Dinner" and an auction to raise funds for the relief effort.

Laboratory employees turned out by the hundreds to support the effort, and in the end Ms. Wu presented a check for $9,550.05 to the Pine Tree Chapter of the Red Cross. Upon receiving the check, Patrick Adams, interim executive director of the Pine Tree Chapter, commented, "All Red Cross disaster services are provided at no cost to victims and depend on the generosity of people like the employees of The Jackson Laboratory."