The state of maine in the United States has no specific laws regarding stem cell research, though the state has a long history in progressive biomedi-cal research dating back to the founding of Jackson Laboratory on Mt. Desert Island in 1929. The state has made a commitment to monetary investment in research and development for their modest biomedicine industry to support innovation while creating jobs and improving the economy.

In March 2007 a bill (LD 1402 An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Enhance Funding for Stem Cell Research in Maine) was introduced into the Maine legislature. The bill would have directed bond revenue to fund stem cell research and establish an umbilical cord bank in the state. Along with the bill, the sponsor offered an amendment to limit the funding to adult stem cells to avoid the embryonic stem cell controversy. However, the bill did not progress and appears to be dead due to legislative rules.

With no federal funding available for stem cell research, Maine researchers must rely on grant money and state support. In 2006 the governor made funding of stem cell research a priority and set a goal of achieving $1 billion annual expenditure on biomedical research in Maine by the year 2010. Investment by the State of Maine on building infrastructure (labs and equipment) is expected to result in a return on investment through grant funding from outside sources, including a recent National Institutes of Health grant and opportunities for increased biotech business development in commercially viable products and therapies.

Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor was started in 1929 by Clarence Cook Little as a cancer research facility. The mission of Jackson Laboratory is to perform primary genetic research and provide resources and education to support other researchers in treating human disease. To meet this goal, the laboratory breeds mice, inducing over 800 varieties of targeted genetic traits and diseases. These mice as well as frozen embryos and DNA samples are available for shipment to investigators worldwide.

In addition to the breeding program, researchers at Jackson Laboratory are studying cancers, immunology, neurobiology, metabolic diseases, developmental and reproductive biology and computational biology (genes). In 1956 a research team at Jackson Lab transplanted blood forming cells from the living into anemic mice. The majority of the anemic mice were cured within 60 days, providing the first evidence of stem cell transplant ability to cure disease.

Current stem cell research in animal models includes the use of adult stem cells as possible treatment for genetic disorders like lysosomal storage disease, minimizing the effect of graft-versus-host disease after stem cell transplant and the direct implantation of neuronal stem cells into the brain to solve the problem of minimal stem cell entry into the central nervous system.

The Maine Medical Center Research Institute (MMCRI) in Scarborough opened in 1996. With both laboratory and clinical research spaces, the institute maintains academic ties with the University of Maine at Orono, University of Vermont Medical School, Dartmouth Medical School, the Jackson Laboratory, and the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. The center grew from the previous success in research with funding from the National Institutes of Health dating back to the 1950s. At MMCRI, a research team identified signaling pathways and the genes controlling stem cell renewal and differentiation as well as discovering the possibility of using adult stem cells in developing a wide range of tissue cells. The institute focuses on research, education, and patient care.

The University of Maine at Orono opened in 1868 and over time developed a reputation as a nationally recognized research school. In collaboration with the Maine Medical Center Research Institute and the Jackson Laboratory, the university now offers a Ph.D. program in functional genom-ics, which includes laboratory rotations at each partners institution and encourages having more than one mentor to enhance understanding of the biological mechanisms as well as the technology. Current stem cell research at the university is focused on the analysis of cell surface proteins for signaling and response as well as the dynamic processes involved.

The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory located in Salisbury Cove was founded in 1898 as the Tufts Summer School of Biology. The mission of the laboratory is the study of marine life for advancing knowledge of developmental and life mechanisms with correlations to human health, especially in the areas of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal disease. The laboratory has the special distinction of being one of only four NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Science Centers.

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