Jackson Labs Officially Opens New Site

The Jackson Laboratory officially opened its new research institute Tuesday.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held and Gov. Dannel Malloy, UConn President Susan Herbst and others came together for the event.

“We invested in Bioscience Connecticut because we knew this emerging industry would pay immediate and long-term dividends for our state by positioning us as a global leader in personalized medicine and innovative research, attracting new business investment and creating good-paying jobs with good benefits for our residents,” Malloy said in a statement. “The speed at which this project was completed and the great work that is already underway at JAX Genomic Medicine demonstrates that our investment is already paying off. We could not ask for a better partner than JAX and we look forward to continuing this successful collaboration between the state and this world-renowned research institute.”

The state authorized $291 million for the building of the site. Ground was broken in January 2013. The job employed about 300 construction workers and will also add jobs to Connecticut’s growing bioscience industry, according to a release.

JAX agreed to employ at least 300 biomedical researchers, technicians and research staff by 2020. So far there are 79 employees.

Other highlights from Malloy’s office include:

• As of September 2014, more than $14 million in federal research grants have been awarded to JAX Genomic Medicine scientists, including five federal grant awards in 2013, its first full years of operation, worth a total of $3.2 million.
• Scientists at JAX Genomic Medicine submitted three patent applications last year based on innovations in stem cell technology, treatments of inflammatory disease and DNA analysis.
• Key scientific journals published four seminal articles arising from research conducted by the Genomic Medicine faculty in 2013 and three Jackson Laboratory researchers made the list of the nation’s most promising young investigators in genomics research in a survey presented by GenomeWeb, an influential publication in the field.
• In April 2013, JAX entered into a Collaborative Research Agreement with Connecticut Children’s Medical Center to explore new approaches to cancer treatment and, in addition to UConn, JAX Genomic Medicine is in active discussions with other institutions of higher education including Wesleyan University and Connecticut College to co-develop seminars, lecture series and genomics courses.
• Last fall, JAX Genomic Medicine received important state and federal licensing and approval to accept and process clinical samples of human cells and tissues for DNA testing, paving the way for clinical collaborations with other health facilities.

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Image from Governor’s Office