MDI Biological Laboratory, which does pioneering research in tissue regeneration and degenerative disease, plans to launch a search for a new president following the announcement that Kevin Strange, Ph.D., will resign when his current term ends in two years.

Strange has managed the Bar Harbor lab for the past seven years. He will step down at the end of July 2018, according to a news release from the lab.

Research at the MDI Biological Laboratory under Strange’s leadership centered on identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying aging and age-related degenerative diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s rather than the “one disease, one drug” approach that characterizes most modern medicine – a focus that raises the prospect that treatments can be developed to prolong healthy lifespans in humans.

Upon stepping down as president, Strange will continue to serve as director of the lab’s Center of Biomedical Research Excellence program, participate in all aspects of junior faculty career development, manage his own research laboratory and grow and manage Novo Biosciences, a for-profit spinoff of MDI Biological Laboratory.

During his tenure, Strange focused the institution’s research activity in the fields of aging and regenerative biology; recruited scientists to study the genetic mechanisms underlying aging and tissue repair and regeneration; oversaw the construction of a new multimillion-dollar laboratory building; and attracted more than $45 million in federal, state and private funding.

Before joining MDI Biological Laboratory, he was a National Institutes of Health-funded biomedical scientist and a leader at Harvard Medical School and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Trustees of the lab said they will launch a national search for Strange’s replacement this fall.


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