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December 1, 2025

MDI Bio Lab starts renovations on century-old research building

A sketch shows structures and lines. Photo / Courtesy MDI Bio Lab Neal Laboratory has long supported seasonal research, but its layout and infrastructure were limiting due to small, compartmentalized labs. 
By Laurie Schreiber

The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, a nonprofit hub for the science of aging and regeneration in Bar Harbor, received a $1.6 million federal investment to modernize a century-old research building to house a translational science and entrepreneurial initiative program called MDI Bioscience.

Renovations to the Neal Laboratory building will include 21st-century research facilities, offices and meeting space, according to a news release.

The federal appropriation, secured by U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, will fund the entire project cost.

“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,” said Hermann Haller, the lab’s president.

MDI Bioscience's mission will be to provide industry-grade research capabilities and accelerate early-stage development of new therapies for human health.

Demolition began last month and the updates are expected to be completed in September 2026. 

An exterior of an old building.
Photo / Courtesy MDI Bio Lab
The rebuild will add almost 2,000 square feet of research space and a modern layout and infrastructure.

The modern, flexible space is designed to be able to support complex workflows and partnerships. It will add almost 2,000 square feet of research space to complement more than 10,000 square feet of infrastructure at the Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Aging, established in 2012, and other facilities.

Purpose-built

Neal Laboratory has long supported seasonal research, but its layout and infrastructure were limited due to small, compartmentalized labs on the first floor and a half-story upstairs with low ceilings and minimal meeting space. 

The redesign will accommodate year-round operations. 

The first floor will become a 900-square-foot, open-plan laboratory with room for roughly a dozen staff, significantly expanded bench space and a bio-secure procedure room for sensitive experimental work. There will be an entry area, a common space and a restroom.

Upstairs, workers are removing the existing structure entirely and rebuilding it with full headroom, doubling the usable space to nearly 1,000 square feet. The second floor will feature two private offices, a large conference room overlooking Frenchman Bay and a break room with a kitchenette.

A dedicated, standalone HVAC system will supply controlled air exchange and negative pressure to safeguard research integrity, said Mark Hanscome, the facilities manager.

Energy-efficient heat pumps will serve the upper floor and common areas. The project includes extensive structural reinforcements to support the expanded second story.

The project team is led by gbA Architecture & Planning in Burlington, Vt., and E.L Shea Builders & Engineers of Ellsworth.

Larger plan

The renovation is part of a larger campus plan that includes recent upgrades to another research facility called the Halsey Building; the upgrades will support animal husbandry for zebrafish, African turquoise killifish and other 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,” Haller said.

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