A century-old research home for generations of leading MDI Biological Laboratory scientists in Maine is currently being fully modernized and winterized.
The renovation of the Neal Laboratory in Bar Harbor will update the historic structure to include a 21st century research lab, offices, meeting space and innovation hub, the research facility announced.
The project is made possible by a $1.6 million federal appropriation request secured by Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King.
MDI Laboratory President Hermann Haller, M.D., calls the project a major step forward for the research and bioscience complex.
Located on the shores of Frenchman Bay, MDI Bio Labs was founded in 1898 as a summer research and education facility along the rocky Maine coastline in order to have access to countless and diverse sea animal species.
The Neal building was the first permanent structure that MDI Biological Laboratory built on Bar Harbor's Frenchman Bay.
Over the last decade, MDI Bio Labs began "a dramatic transformation to become a growing and rising independent biomedical research, development and education institution," according to a news release.
MDI Bioscience was launched to accelerate early-stage development of new therapies for human health and provide industry-grade research capabilities. As projects and collaborations take shape, they require more modern and flexible labs capable of supporting complex workflows and partnerships.
The Neal laboratory renovation is tailored for that mission, the Mount Desert Islander in Ellsworth learned, and will add nearly 2,000 sq. ft. of research space to complement more than 10,000 sq. ft. of existing infrastructure at the Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Aging and other facilities on the coastal Maine campus.
"MDI Bioscience is filling an important need at the MDI Bio Lab as our faculty apply their original research and expertise to real-world problems in human health," Haller said. "When the Neal Laboratory reopens it will honor MDI Bio Lab's historic contributions to science while forging ahead in the new age of biomedical innovation."
Purpose-Built Home for New Science
The Neal Laboratory has long supported seasonal research, but its layout and infrastructure had become limiting due to small, compartmentalized labs on the first floor and a half-story upstairs with low ceilings and minimal meeting space, not to mention a striking but impractical spiral staircase.
Designed by gBa Architecture & Planning of Burlington, Vt., and carried out by E.L Shea Builders & Engineers of Ellsworth, Maine, the renovation will completely reimagine the space for year-round science.
The first floor will become a 900-sq.-ft. open-plan laboratory with room for roughly a dozen staff, significantly expanded bench space and a bio-secure procedure room for sensitive experimental work. A welcoming entry area, common space and restroom will support the rhythms of daily lab life.
Upstairs, crews are removing the existing structure entirely and rebuilding it with full headroom, which will double the usable space to nearly 1,000 sq. ft. The second floor also will feature two private offices, a large conference room overlooking the bay and a break room with a kitchenette – spaces designed to foster collaboration and facilitate efficiency.
According to Mark Hanscome, MDI Bio Lab's facilities manager, a dedicated and standalone HVAC system will supply the laboratory with controlled air exchange and negative pressure to safeguard research integrity. Energy-efficient heat pumps, now proven reliable even in brutal Maine winters, will serve the upper floor and common areas.
In addition, he said the project includes extensive structural reinforcements that will be hidden from view but essential to supporting the expanded second story and ensuring long-term durability.
Supporting Larger Research Ecosystem
The renovation is part of a coordinated plan for the lower MDI Lab campus that includes the recently upgraded Halsey Building. That structure is dedicated to support animal husbandry for zebrafish, African Turquoise Killifish, and other comparative models for human health that MDI Bioscience uses in its quest to accelerate drug discovery.
"We are expanding capacity, attracting new investigators and equipping the lab to pursue innovative solutions to challenges in human health with greater precision and efficiency," said Haller.
Demolition on the Neal Lab site began in November and its upgrades are expected to be completed in September 2026.
Hanscome said his chief goal is to "get the project in on time and on or under budget, and I am confident we will."
