The Jackson Laboratory

03/20/2026

When doctors diagnose a brain tumor, they often face a high-stakes mystery: Is it slow-growing and treatable or aggressive and deadly? Through cutting-edge testing, JAX scientists are helping to more accurately diagnose brain tumors - and changing the lives of patients in the process.
Learn more: https://www.jax.org/news-and-insights/2025/may/precision-brain-cancer-diagnosis 🧠

03/19/2026

A protein already targeted by FDA-approved cancer drugs may also help the body fight influenza, according to new research from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX).

The study, led by JAX Professor Silke Paust and published in Cell Reports, found that Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1), a protein best known for helping tumors evade immune attack, instead helped immunocompromised mice clear flu-infected lung cells and survive infection.

Protein known for suppressing immunity in cancer instead strengthens antiviral defenses

03/18/2026

What if a routine eye scan could tell a doctor if you were at risk of Alzheimer’s disease? JAX scientist Gareth Howell is exploring how genetics shape the way our eyes - and brains - age. Learn more: https://www.jax.org/news-and-insights/2025/may/more-than-meets-the-eye 👁️ 🧠

03/17/2026

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and BioCT convened the third Connecticut Rare Disease Forum today at JAX Genomic Medicine in Farmington, CT, bringing together researchers, biotech executives, clinicians, and policymakers to examine the future of rare disease research and treatment.

Third annual forum brings national and state leaders together to advance rare disease research, gene-based therapies, and patient access

03/16/2026

🧠 Brain science moves faster when researchers learn together. During Brain Awareness Week, explore how immersive courses and workshops at JAX are giving scientists around the world the tools needed to accelerate discovery into Alzheimer’s and age-related diseases. Read more: https://bit.ly/4uosBRR

New and long-standing workshops at The Jackson Laboratory empower researchers with cutting-edge tools, data, and collaborative opportunities.

03/16/2026

Today kicks off Brain Awareness Week, a chance to celebrate the wonders of the brain. Follow along to see why science around brain research matters, and how JAX is advancing crucial research, providing education and sharing mouse models to shed light on this small but mighty organ 🧠

03/12/2026

03/10/2026

Through a $1 million gift from the Worthington Scholarship Foundation (Worthington Scholars), the Worthington-JAX Biomedical Fellows Scholarship will offer innovative, experiential biomedical research training opportunities for current Worthington Scholars and scholar alumni. We are thrilled to partner with the Worthington Scholarship Foundation in providing these opportunities to students and educators in Maine’s educational ecosystem.

For more information and to learn how to apply, check out our press release: https://bit.ly/46SXNPd

The Worthington–JAX Biomedical Fellows Scholarship will enable students, young scientists and educators to experience JAX’s world-class biomedical training programs

03/09/2026

It's 🎗️

What is endometriosis? It’s a disease you can't always see, but that JAX scientists are helping make more visible, one cell at a time (like in these microscopy images of endometrium organoids!). It's a chronic, systemic disease, where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus causing inflammation, scarring, chronic pain, and sometimes infertility.

At JAX, researchers are studying endometriosis at the single‑cell level, using advanced tools like genomics and cell biology to better understand how the disease develops and progresses.

JAX also powers the core of the EndoRISE program: a robust data and biorepository accelerating discovery, early detection, and better treatments. EndoRISE —Endometriosis Research, Innovation, Support, and Education— is a first‑of‑its‑kind, state‑supported program uniting scientists, clinicians, patients, and policymakers.

Learn more about how to get involved and support endometriosis research or the EndoRISE program at jax.org/endo

03/05/2026

JAX is proud to announce that Professor Bill Skarnes has been selected as the 17th recipient of the International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT) Prize, one of the highest honors in the field. The award recognizes a career spent creating the foundational technologies researchers around the world rely on to understand genes and disease.

Across more than three decades, Skarnes has helped transform how scientists manipulate the genome — first in mice and then in human stem cells — enabling experiments that were once impossible. His work has accelerated discoveries across cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and rare diseases.

Skarnes’ groundbreaking contributions to transgenic technologies and genome engineering made a generation of experiments possible

03/04/2026

"I wasn’t ready to die. I don’t think anybody is,” said Henry.

“It doesn’t feel like we’re looking at the end; feels like we have another chance to keep going.”

He thought a stage IV prostate cancer diagnosis would mean hours on the road to distant specialists. Instead, world-class genomic cancer care came to his island community through JAX's Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI).

A carpenter for 50 years and happiest outdoors, Henry is focused on what matters most: time with family and another chance to keep going.

Discover Henry's story:

Diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer, Henry Grandgent expected a future of long hospital drives and distant specialists. Instead, the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI) brought world-class cancer care to his island community.

03/03/2026

A new painless patch developed by researchers at JAX in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offers new way to monitor immune health.

The first of its kind bandage-like microneedle patch can sample the body’s immune responses painlessly from the skin. The device detects inflammatory signals within minutes and collects specialized immune cells within hours without the need for blood draws or surgical biopsies.

Read the full story: https://go.jax.org/skin-patch