Bar Harbor, Maine — On Friday, June 24, The Jackson Laboratory held a groundbreaking ceremony for its future Center for Biometric Analysis, which will equip scientists with essential, cutting-edge tools for detecting and measuring extremely subtle signs of disease at the cellular level in specialized mice, using high-powered imaging and analytical devices and animal models.
Attending the ceremony were Justin Davis, staff assistant to U.S. Senator Susan Collins; Chris Rector, regional representative for U.S. Senator Angus King; Mark Kontio, staff assistant to U.S. Representative Bruce Poliquin; John Butera, senior policy advisor, office of Maine Governor Paul LePage; and Ana Hicks, chief of staff, speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Mark W. Eves. The officials joined JAX President and CEO Edison Liu, M.D., Scientific Director of Mammalian Genetics Nadia Rosenthal, Ph.D., F.Med.Sci., and Vice President for External Affairs and Strategic Partnerships Michael Hyde.
The 21,000-square-foot facility — designed by Harriman Associates of Auburn, Maine, and to be built by P.C. Construction of Portland, Maine — is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017. The Jackson Laboratory will fund $11 million of the $21 million cost of the building, with the remaining $10 million provided by Maine state bond funding approved by voters in November 2015.