The J.I.M. Interview

Abstract

So much of contemporary biomedical science is done at large, high-powered research institutions that it is easy to overlook the important contributions that come from small centers with a rich intellectual history and a special purpose. The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, just a few minutes outside of the well-known town of Bar Harbor, is one of these treasures. This summer, the laboratory celebrated its 100th anniversary. Although its dedicated (and often celebrated) summer scientists speak with evident pride about a new conference center and eagerly anticipate more year-round use of facilities with the addition of newly winterized (ie, heated) laboratories, the MDIBL remains a rustic enclave of small, shingled buildings set by the ocean on one of the world's most beautiful islands. As its anniversary book documents, the Mount Desert lab is an international center for the study of epithelial transport, the physiology of marine vertebrates and their relevance to human biology, and the toxic effects of environmental pollutants on man and beast. Many of the lab's leading scientists of the past 50 years have ties to Yale, attesting to the truth that colleagues attract colleagues. The present chairman of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory's Board of Trustees is James L. Boyer, a professor of medicine in the department of internal medicine at Yale. John N. Forrest, Jr., also a professor of medicine at Yale, is the newly-elected scientific director of MDIBL. In an interview with Investigative Medicine in their loft offices on the Maine coast, they talked about science, clinical investigation, and the importance of teaching young researchers.

(Barbara J. Culliton)