BREAKING: The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, has just been awarded a groundbreaking federal grant of up to $30.6 million to create advanced digital models of the human heart. This funding, announced by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) on October 19, 2023, marks a historic achievement as it is the first specialized federal grant for biomedical research in the state.
This substantial investment will enable the lab to develop digital heart models aimed at revolutionizing drug testing. These models will assess medications against diverse genetic profiles and physiological differences, addressing a critical need in modern medicine. According to Alicia Jackson, director of ARPA-H, “Too many promising medicines fail late, after years of work and enormous cost, because our best tools still don’t reliably predict how a drug will behave in people.”
The grant funds eight projects across the nation, all dedicated to creating computer models that accurately replicate human biology to better predict drug safety and effectiveness before clinical trials commence. Jackson emphasized the urgency of this initiative: “With today’s awards, ARPA-H is backing cutting-edge teams to build human-based, AI-enabled models.”
Matt Mahoney, principal computational scientist at Jackson Lab and lead investigator on the project, expressed enthusiasm for the scope of the initiative. “We’re tremendously excited,” Mahoney stated. “The idea of taking animal models out of pre-clinical safety evaluations and doing better with artificial intelligence and simulation is a tremendous opportunity.”
A significant driver for this research is the challenge of cardiotoxicity, a leading cause of clinical trial failures where drugs negatively impact heart function. Traditional animal models have proven inadequate for predicting human responses. Mahoney noted, “Our project is using a combination of AI methods and human cellular models to design virtual human populations that we can use as a replacement for animal models.”
The impact of this funding extends beyond the lab, as the Jackson Laboratory, which employs over 1,000 people, will be adding new positions to support this ambitious research endeavor. Senator Susan Collins praised the grant, stating, “This more than $30 million grant is a testament to the incredible work happening at The Jackson Laboratory that has the potential to dramatically reduce the time and cost of drug development.”
As the Jackson Laboratory embarks on this innovative project, the medical community and patients alike will be watching closely. The potential for improved drug testing processes could pave the way for safer and more effective therapies, ultimately transforming patient care.
Stay tuned for updates on this developing story as The Jackson Laboratory leads the charge in next-generation biomedicine.
