Welcoming Maine’s Life Science Leaders to Mount Desert Island

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Welcoming Maine's Life Science Leaders to Mount Desert Island

• May 15, 2025

Roughly two dozen members of Maine's growing life sciences community hopped a bus in Portland Wednesday and headed to Bar Harbor for an up-close view of the island's state-of-the-art biomedical research facilities, MDI Biological Laboratory and The Jackson Laboratory, and to meet some of the innovative scientists involved.

Organized by the Bioscience Association of Maine in partnership with the two historic research institutes, MDI Biological Laboratory and The Jackson Laboratory, the tour's two dozen participants included academic and research faculty from varied institutions, state economic development officials, and leaders in private-sector life sciences businesses.

Participants included Trevor Ruggiero, founder of Saco-based Looma Design, which specializes in the development of life sciences products, from concept to clinical trial and pilot production. "We take cutting edge science and turn it into products," he said.

"Visiting organizations like MDI Biological Laboratory gives us a window into our future, seeing what researchers are working on and what could be coming down the pipeline. Tours like this help us get smarter and allow us to collaborate with other colleagues to help build Maine's life science community."

The tour comes as state lawmakers consider a measure, LD 1643, which would dedicate $3 million to the establishment of a Maine Life Sciences Innovation Center. It aims to accelerate life science R&D job creation by coordinating emerging partnerships, aligning workforce training efforts and promoting policies to incentivize the high-paying sector's growth in Maine.

"This was the perfect time to bring life science leaders to Bar Harbor to tour two of Maine's premier research institutions," said Agnieszka Carpenter, executive director of the bioscience association. "It gave educators, CEOs, and economic development officials an opportunity to see the innovation happening now and the possibilities of what can be if we continue to invest in this growing economic sector."

MDI Bio Lab faculty gave presentations of their work on the biology of aging and regeneration, the Laboratory's unique array of animal models, and provided some hands-on demonstrations of the facility's advanced capabilities.

"Maine is a hidden gem of scientific knowledge and expertise," said Hermann Haller, M.D., president of MDI Bio Lab. "The more we can do to facilitate greater awareness and collaboration about the resources we have available, the better it is for everyone."