The JAX Cancer Center (JAXCC) is a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center complemented by institutional education, resource and service initiatives that support cancer research worldwide. The Cancer Center is dedicated to discovering precise genomic solutions for cancer by making basic discoveries with human impact.

The JAX Center for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research focuses on the origins, progression, and treatments of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias using the mouse as a model organism. The JAX AD center aims to develop an integrated approach to studying AD that includes multi-scale comparative analyses, innovative technologies, broad experimental designs and expanded clinical study frameworks.

JAX research centers combine deep expertise and a collaborative mindset to accelerate discovery in complex disease and areas impacting human health. Your support brings together multiple perspectives across JAX to support long-term, innovative research into cancer, aging, neurodegeneration, addiction, and more. Please select a center below to learn more and make a gift:

An endowed gift is a permanent, self-sustaining source of funding. Endowment assets are invested, and each year, a portion of the value of the fund is paid out to support the fund's purpose.

The Jackson Laboratory provides exceptional opportunities for research and training in a unique scientific environment through its postbacc, Ph.D. and postdoctoral programs.

The President’s Fund allows the Laboratory’s president and CEO to deploy philanthropy where most needed in support of the JAX mission and scientific discovery. The president and CEO is responsible for the Laboratory’s global vision, strategic direction, research and operations. Internationally recognized human geneticist and demonstrated leader in academic, pharma and biotech research, Lon Cardon, Ph.D., FMedSci, joined The Jackson Laboratory as president and chief executive officer in November 2021. Previously, he was chief scientific officer and chief scientific strategy officer at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., a rare disease biotechnology company, where he led a strategic repositioning from ultra-rare genetic diseases to broader genetic disorders between 2017 and 2021. Read more about Cardon here.

The Director’s Innovation Fund provides crucial seed money for novel and creative research ideas for JAX scientists willing to take risks and explore new directions. It affords JAX researchers the time and resources to rigorously explore and test their concepts. This approach empowers them to advance their most ambitious and innovative research projects to the point that they show sufficient proof-of-concept, progress to generate data for publication or external funding applications. These activities have directly led to the launch of large-scale projects at JAX which can then be supported by the NIH and other external sources for funding.

The JAX Endowment for Diversity Initiatives aims to ensure that individuals across the organization—trainees, faculty, researchers and staff—feel valued, included and empowered to do their best work. The endowment supports programming to foster a culture of inclusivity at JAX and to build a diverse scientific community through specialized mentorship for trainees from groups that are underrepresented in science.

Using specialized mouse models and the latest technology, JAX scientists are working to curb one of the most common chronic diseases affecting people worldwide: diabetes. The term “diabetes” actually covers two very different diseases, categorized as type 1 and type 2. Both types involve insufficient levels of the hormone insulin, which the body uses to transport glucose into cells, where it serves as the primary energy source. Lack of insulin results in too much glucose in the blood, which has a long list of negative consequences, including stroke, heart disease and damage to organs. JAX scientists are working to extend healthy life spans by manipulating genes that may block diabetes from developing.

JAX education programs range from high school summer programs, like the flagship Summer Student Program, to postbacc and postdoc programs. JAX education programs are focused on continuing education for scientists, students and teachers and programs for the general public about the unfolding promise of genetics and genomics.

The services and collections of the Joan Staats Library support The Jackson Laboratory's mission to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health. Nearly 5,600 electronic journal titles, 80 print journal titles and a book collection of more than 4,000 volumes comprise the collection, while the Reprint Collection numbers over 46,000 journal articles.

The Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI) is an alliance of Maine oncology providers, led by JAX, aimed at making precision medicine, innovative clinical trials, access to targeted therapies and novel technology available for cancer patients throughout Maine.

We depend on a vast army of microbes to stay alive: a microbiome that protects us against germs, breaks down food to release energy, and produces vitamins. Disruptions of the microbial ecosystem are linked with human diseases including autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders, and obesity.JAX research is revealing the powers of our own microbes, from those located in our stomachs to those on our skin,to fundamentally change our understanding of diseases of all kinds.

At JAX, our mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in our shared quest to improve human health. Our faculty collaborate to integrate mouse genetics and human genomics to understand the underlying causes of human health and disease. The result is a multi-disciplinary, impactful research program that provides a broad scope for inquiry and catalyzes discovery across the spectrum of basic, translational and preclinical research.

Vision research at JAX focuses on the mechanisms of eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, as well as Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases – treating the eye as a window to the brain.