Research Update in
Neuroscience for Neurosurgeons

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Introduction
Research and Education
Marine Organisms and Medical Science
MBL Associates
Woods Hole: A Village of Scientists
Biology's Best Minds
The MBL Community
MBL Opportunities
MBL Courses
Governance and Support

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL)

was established in 1888 as a non-profit institution devoted to research and education in basic biology. Lewis Thomas, author of The Lives of a Cell, has called the MBL "the uniquely national center for biology in this country." Scientists and students throughout the world come to the MBL to conduct research, teach, studys and collaborate with other scientists. They often use the diverse and abundant organisms found in surrounding waters as model systems in their research.

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MBL ACTIVITIES: RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

• Maintains year-round research programs in cell and developmental biology, ecology, neurobiology, sensory physiology, microbiology, marine biomedi-cine, and molecular evolution.
  
  
• Studies the ecology of natural systems and applies the knowledge thus gained to the problems of sustaining and managing the Earth's resources through the MBL's year-round Ecosystems Center.
  
  
• Hosts a summer population of 1100 additional scientists and advanced students and offers intensive summer courses for graduate and post-graduate students.
  
  
• Hosts the Boston University Marine Program: a faculty research and graduate program in neurobiology, cell biology, ecology & environmental sciences; and an undergraduate semester of intense laboratory and field research in marine science.
  
  
• Provides for aquatic animal health treatment and diagnostic services. consultative research, and educational services through the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's resident Laboratory for Aquatic Animal Medicine and Pathology and the AQUAVET¨ courses.
  
  
• Maintains over 230,000 square feet of space dedicated to teaching and research.
  
  
• Offers short courses throughout the year for professional fscientists and clinicians seeking intensive practical training.
  
  
• Maintains one of the world's largest collections of biomedical and marine biological literature in its library, jointly operated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
  
  
• Provides electronic literature search and document retrieval services to affiliated scientists throughout the world via an interactive web site.
  
  
• Hosts international scientific symposia, departmental retreats, and conferences, including the annual meeting of the Society for General Physiologists and the annual Molecular Biology of Parasitism conference.
  
  
• Provides state-of-the-art holding and culturing facilities for marine organisms in the Marine Resources Center, which supplies 200 species of marine life (more than 100,000 organisms annually) to scientists at research institutions around the world.
  
  
• Supports several educational outreach programs, including the summer Science Writing Fellowships Program and the off-season Elderhostel Program.
  
  
• Publishes The Biological Bulletin, a bi-monthly, international scientific journal, and its electronic companion journal, the Marine Models Electronic Record.
  

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Why do scientists spend valuable research time studying the biology of simple marine organisms while devastating diseases like cancer and AIDS assault our species? How can primitive sea creatures help us solve human medical problems?

Biologists value marine organisms because they serve as excellent models: simple versions of more complex organisms. Studying life processes in marine animals, scientists learn how the same events occur in the human body - and how they go awry when disease strikes.

Few people realize that research on simple marine organisms has led to some of our greatest medical advances. Studies of the sea urchin, for example -many of which were carried out at the MBL -laid the scientific foundation for such advanced reproductive technologies as in vitro fertilization.

Today, research at the MBL is helping scientists solve medical puzzles as diverse as:

• How do tumor cells grow?
• What is the brain's role in vision?
• How do sperm and eggs cells communicate?
• Where does alcohol have its effect on nerve cells?
• What goes wrong in the nerve cells of Alzheimer's patients?

Squid, sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, dogfish, clams, starfish, toadfish, sea slugs, and sea sponges are among the marine animals that help scientists answer these and other important medical questions.

Research conducted at the MBL has increased our understanding of a broad range of diseases and medical conditions,including:

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In the early l940s a small group of Woods Hole summer residents formed the MBL Associates to help support research and education at the laboratory. Today the MBL has more than 400 Associate members. Associates are kept up to date on laboratory activities through MBL publications and are invited to participate in a variety of MBL events. To learn more about the Associates, call the Associates Office at (508) 289-7281.

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The village of Woods Hole is an international center for natural science. In addition to the Marine Biological Laboratory, the Woods Hole scientific community includes the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the United States Geological Survey, the National Academy of Sciences, the Boston University Marine Program, and Sea Education Association.

For more information about the MBL, contact the 0ffice of Communications, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, (508) 289-7423; via Internet at http://www.mbl.edu

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As one of the great international centers for biological research, the MBL has attracted many of the world's best biologists to Woods Hole throughout the century. For over 100 years biologists from every leading research institution in America and abroad have come to the MBL to conduct their research. More than 35 Nobel laureates have spent a season or more at the MBL as students., faculty investigators, or library readers.

"Unlike most investigators, who experienced the 'scientific community' largely as an abstraction biologists structured their professional lives around one place -the Marine Biological Laboratory in the village of Woods Hole."

-----Phillip J. Pauley in The American Development of Biology

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The MBL currently supports a year-round staff of more than 200 scientists and support personnel. During the summer months, and additional 1100 scientists and students from 318 institutions worldwide come to the MBL to study and conduct research. They include more than 300 principal investigators and scientific staff; 133 library readers; 257 faculty and lecturers and 128 students in 6 summer courses; and 234 students and 160 faculty and lecturers in 9 short courses.

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Hundreds of scientists come to the MBL each year to conduct research and participate in courses. Fellowships and scholarships are available for investigators, summer course participants, under-represented minorities, and library readers. For more information about MBL research and educational opportunities, contact the MBL Office of Research Administration and Education at (508) 289-7441 (or via Internet at http://www.rnbl.edu).

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MBL summer courses are designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and emphasize hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment. In addition to numerous short courses offered throughout the year, the MBL offers six longer summer courses: Biology of Parasitism, Embryology, Microbial Diversity, Neural Systems and Behavior, Neurobiology, and Physiology.

The MBL's Ecosystems Center also offers college juniors an opportunity to participate in a Semester in Environmental Science each fall.

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The MBL is a non-profit corporation composed of approximately 700 members, 54 of whom are also members of the National Academy of Sciences. The MBL is governed by a board of trustees whose members include scientists, representatives of business and industry', and community leaders. Research and education at the MBL is supported by foundations, corporations, government grants and contracts, and individuals. Contributions to the MEL are tax deductible. For further information, contact the MBL Development Office at (508) 289-7650.

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Copyright © 2008 The Society of Neurological Surgeons