The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory

The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, a tax-exempt nonprofit research organization headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine, is a prime recipient of federal research grants focused on biomedical and comparative biology research, with particular depth in regeneration, aging, and developmental biology. The laboratory operates as a research institution rather than a federal contractor and does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles.

The laboratory's federal grant portfolio centers on fundamental and applied research in tissue regeneration, aging mechanisms, and science workforce development. Recent prime grants include a $345,113 award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) in August 2026 for the Advancing Communication and Engagement in the Sciences (ACES) program, a nationally accessible training initiative in multi-domain science communication for early-career biomedical scientists (CFDA 93.859); a $464,952 grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Biological Infrastructure in April 2026 for a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site on comparative animal model approaches to regeneration and aging (CFDA 47.074), training ten undergraduate students annually across three summers; and a $422,500 NIGMS award in April 2026 investigating molecular mechanisms of limb and tail regeneration in axolotls as a foundation for scarless tissue regeneration in humans (CFDA 93.859). Additional representative work includes a $464,750 NIGMS grant on nucleolin organization in C. elegans, an Emerging Leaders in Regenerative Biology and Development (REBILD) program funded by NIGMS to train graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in cross-species regenerative and developmental biology, and a $30 thousand National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant examining psychiatric disorder risk following early-life arsenic exposure using zebrafish models.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward the National Institutes of Health and its component institutes. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences dominates both award count and mission focus, with eighteen prime grants addressing regenerative biology, tissue repair, aging, and biomedical workforce development. The National Science Foundation accounts for six awards, primarily REU and research infrastructure support. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences holds six grants on arsenic exposure and immune dysregulation. The laboratory also receives sub-award funding under University of Maine System and other prime grants, contributing computational, bioinformatics, and experimental support to collaborative research projects in genomics and molecular biology.

The laboratory operates with comparative animal models including zebrafish, axolotls, C. elegans, and killifish to investigate regeneration and aging mechanisms across species. A separate MDI Bioscience initiative, funded through congressionally directed spending to the Healthcare Systems Bureau in 2023 and 2024, supports construction and modernization of a state-of-the-art drug discovery facility designed to accelerate translation of laboratory discoveries into therapeutic development. Performance locations include Bar Harbor and Salsbury Cove, Maine. Activity has been episodic, with two awards in 2022, seven in 2023, five in 2024, three in 2025, and five in 2026. Four awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing a modest recompete window.