Collaboration at JAX

Expanding our impact by partnering with others.

LabXchange

JAX has partnered with LabXchange, a free online community and digital learning platform for educators across the globe, to create virtual interactive lab simulations for our Teaching the Genome Generation program.

Microsoft

JAX’s Clinical Knowledgebase team partners with Microsoft to apply machine learning capabilities to enhance our complex genomic database which aims to improve patient outcomes and share information about clinical trials and treatment options.

Stoelting

Stoelting supplies the world’s scientists with the highest-quality instruments available and has been a strong supporter of JAX’s educational courses and workshops, assisting us in training the next generation of scientists.

A Catalyst for Collaboration — at JAX and around the world 

At JAX, we are focused on being a hub and catalyst for collaboration. Bringing people together has been an integral part of JAX culture from our earliest days. It is a vital part of our mission to empower the global biomedical community with the expertise, tools, data and resources that accelerate understanding and advance treatments.

Here are a few of the many examples of our collaborative spirit at work:

Genomics education for the future

  • Mentorship is a vital part of JAX’s focus, offering scientists of all levels the opportunity to learn from and work with JAX researchers and professional staff.
  • JAX partners with several higher education institutions, including the University of Maine, Tufts University, the University of Connecticut and UConn Health and the Roux Institute of Northeastern University, offering students the opportunity to learn at JAX while pursuing their graduate or post-graduate degrees.
  • Partnerships with other institutions enable a diverse calendar of courses and workshops, including the Short Course in Mammalian Genetics and Human Genomics, a collaboration with Johns Hopkins for over 60 years. Courses are offered online and in-person in the United States and abroad.
  • JAX’s popular Teaching the Genome Generation program connects JAX with high school teachers across New England to enhance student learning in genetics, genomics, and personalized medicine.  
  • JAX partners with the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance to present the annual Maine State Science Fair for high school students and is an annual supporter of the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair and the Connecticut Science Center.
  • JAX connects JAX researchers with members of the local community, often co-hosting events with libraries, schools and other organizations.

Connecting with the clinic

  • Led by JAX with support from the Alfond Foundation, the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative is an alliance of Maine oncology providers aimed at making precision medicine, innovative clinical trials, access to targeted therapies and novel technology available for cancer patients throughout Maine.
  • JAX research partnerships with clinical institutions such as UConn Health, Connecticut Children’s and Shriners Hospital are creating new horizons for translational research.
  • The JAX Clinical Knowledgebase connects clinicians and researchers to enable interpretation of complex cancer genomic profiles. CKB staff also work with Microsoft to develop AI technology designed to strengthen and accelerate the curation process, and with Heligenics to understand how ERBB2 mutations cause various types of breast and other cancers, potentially leading to new treatment options for cancer patients.
  • JAX developed extensive partnerships with clinical facilities and front-line support organizations to provide diagnostic and strain variant testing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The annual JAX Healthcare Forum brings together decision makers from across the healthcare industry to discuss present challenges and future opportunities for research, clinical care, and the regulatory and insurance landscape.
  • JAX Clinical & Continuing Education works with a variety of clinical organizations, state departments of public health, professional societies, non-profit groups, and academic centers to help clinicians leverage the power of genetic counseling in their patient care.
  • JAX collaborates with many disease-focused organizations — including the Alzheimer’s Association, The American Cancer Society, and numerous rare disease foundations — to further research into diagnostics, treatments and cures.

Fostering team science & accelerating discovery

  • Multiple JAX Centers combine robust funding, deep expertise and a collaborative mindset to accelerate discovery in complex disease and other research areas. By bringing together extensive resources and multiple perspectives, the centers support long-term, innovative research into cancer, aging, neurodegeneration, addiction and more.
  • JAX integrates multi-disciplinary research areas through an organizational structure that does not separate faculty by department. Regardless of campus location or area of expertise, JAX faculty work together on complex challenges, and many joint peer-reviewed publications and collaborative grants are the result of those efforts.  
  • JAX research partnerships with other organizations extend our impact and access to specialized knowledge sharing.
    • In 2021 alone, JAX participated in 648 sponsored research collaboration agreements, 361 of which were with academic, research and clinical institutions.
    • JAX faculty are involved in more than 70 collaborative grants with almost 50 of the country’s leading research and clinical organizations, including the Broad Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Yale University.
    • Many JAX faculty hold joint appointments with other research and clinical organizations, aligning research with clinical care and expanding the power of our work.
  • JAX faculty and our Scientific Services teams work together to address research challenges and share expertise. Services personnel are often authors on faculty research publications.  
  • A wide variety of ever-expanding research tools and database resources provide platforms for scientists and clinicians around the world to share information and accelerate research.
  • JAX partners with scientists around the world to develop new research mouse models, and preserve research strains created at JAX and around the world. These efforts ensure these valuable resources remain available to the biomedical research community — in fact, ACE2 receptor mice maintained at JAX were key to the timely development of vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.