Linde Packman Lab Offers Exceptional Biotech Research Opportunities
Colby students conduct graduate-level research at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory and around the world
The Linde Packman Lab for Biosciences Innovation connects students with opportunities at top-tier laboratory environments around the country, from conducting cancer research at Dana-Farber in Boston to swapping Colby’s campus for the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) in Bar Harbor, a coastal Downeast research center specializing in regenerative biomedical research.
“In the sciences, it’s becoming more and more necessary for students applying to medical school or graduate school to have research experience,” said Andrea Tilden, Colby’s director of the Linde Packman Lab for Biosciences Innovation. “Graduate programs want to know that a student understands the research process beyond just laboratory coursework. And it’s our job at Colby to prepare them for that.”
To receive funding for a research experience, students can either submit an application for a position they’ve found on their own or work with the Linde Packman Lab to match their skills and interests to an existing campus partnership, like the one at MDIBL, which takes several Colby students each summer to conduct research.
“Colby has such extraordinary students, and all are eligible to apply for these opportunities,” said Tilden, who is also the Leslie Brainerd Arey Associate Professor of Biosciences. “At each lab we partner with, they already have nationwide programs where students compete for a limited number of spots corresponding to available funding. By providing additional funding, we’re able to help highly competitive, highly successful Colby students access these opportunities so they can begin building their careers, whether in graduate school, medical school, or industry.
A legacy of support and growth
Established with a gift from Karen Linde Packman ’88 and Jeff Packman ’88, the lab prepares students to become the next generation of science leaders and innovators. The lab matches students regardless of their financial means with opportunities, programs, mentors, and funding so they have transformative bioscience experiences on campus and around the world.
The lab has flourished since its introduction in 2018. Since then, additional donors and grants have helped build the programming. The Linde Packman Lab now comprises programs including the Colby Achievement Program in the Sciences (CAPS); the Pulver Science Scholars program; the Champlin Science Scholars program (for numerous Maine-based opportunities); the Lunder Bioinformatics Scholars program at The Jackson Lab (JAX); the Linde Packman Biotech Scholars program at MDIBL; Jan Plan courses at partner institutions, including at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey, the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, JAX, and MDIBL; and Colby’s portion of the Maine INBRE program.
The Maine INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) program, sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, has provided continuous funding of Maine’s research and educational institutions since 2004, and the lead institution, MDIBL, just announced a fifth five-year funding cycle of more than $19 million.
Maine INBRE Director James Coffman of MDIBL will continue to oversee the collaborative network programming that includes the University of Maine system, Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, College of the Atlantic, University of Southern Maine, Southern Maine Community College, MaineHealth Institute for Research, and JAX. Tilden will serve as director of the statewide Student Research Program.
A growing list of Linde Packman Lab partner institutions includes, within Maine, MDIBL, JAX, Maine Health Institute for Research, Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative, and the Roux Institute. Beyond Maine, the network includes the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., the Wellman Center for Photomedicine in Boston, and the Center for Discovery and Innovation in New Jersey.
During the 2022-23 academic year, the lab supported 105 student experiences through on- and off-campus research, travel to conferences, and collaborative inter-institutional courses. The lab works closely with DavisConnects to provide students with broad, open, and fair access to experiences and funding. In addition, DavisConnects helps students with their applications, cover letters, résumés, and professional profiles, Tilden said.
“We were proudly able to support all requests that met funding requirements this year, representing students at all undergraduate career stages, and with attention to science accessibility and financial need,” Tilden noted in the lab’s annual report, adding that these opportunities are particularly important for international students, who do not qualify for the traditional National Science Foundation-Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) programs that predominate the summer undergraduate experience pool across the U.S.
Real research, real impact
At MDIBL, students are actively working on research projects—and in some cases, getting published. “It’s great to have Colby students with us,” said MDIBL President Dr. Hermann Haller. “These projects are not educational projects, but serious research projects that have a real impact.”
Students pair up with established scientists to assist them on projects but also find their own way. “Our faculty mentors are just as enthusiastic to teach as the students are to learn,” said Haller. “It’s much more fun to work at the bench with someone else with whom you can talk through your mistakes and what you’re learning. They become a team for the summer.”
For Hans Toulmin ’25, interning at MDIBL gave him a chance to try out biomedical research in a real-world environment. The chemistry-biochemistry major experimented with stem cell differentiation in kidneys, working to build a model organoid (a miniature functional organ) that would simulate chronic kidney disease so scientists could find better treatment options. “I came into it with the mindset that I wanted to learn a new subject I could potentially move into as a profession after college,” said Toulmin. “Having the ability to be on your own, but with a mentor who would answer my thousands of questions made it the best version of a summer research experience I could ask for.”
The Linde Packman Lab funding goes beyond a single research experience—it’s designed to help guide students through the process of career discovery, Tilden said. Few first-years know what a day in the life looks like for a scientist or the nuance that goes into choosing a graduate program or lab. These experiences mark the beginning of a long-term relationship.
Said Tilden, “Many of these experiences end up continuing throughout the year and over multiple years, especially with our partners in Maine. Students can do computational work remotely or return to their research the following summer. We often provide funding for more than one year of support.”
Toulmin got the chance to continue his kidney research over the following Jan Plan at MDIBL. “My January research was more about solidifying my knowledge of lab techniques and different models I can bring with me to my next research opportunity,” he said. “Working at MDIBL opened so many doors in my head about what science could be. I can’t wait to try something that pushes me into the deep end and see if I can swim or not, to really decide what it is I want to do. Knowing I can do that without worrying about funding is a huge relief.” Toulmin is spending this summer at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, where he is working with Dr. Gary Tearney, M.D., Ph.D. on a biomedical engineering project in optical imaging methodology.
Said Haller, “What we try to achieve is to give students insight into biomedical laboratory work so they can see what it’s all about, and then they can make an educated choice about what they want to do. Maybe they prefer Shakespeare, maybe they prefer biomedicine.”
Summer research to post-grad opportunity
This kind of opportunity stays with students long after they graduate. Sadie Kuhn ’22 returned to MDIBL after her first introduction through a Jan Plan research project in Professor Tilden’s Applied Biomedical Genomics course as a biology major. “I still didn’t know what I wanted to do career-wise at that point, but it gave me a name to a career I didn’t know existed,” said Kuhn. “How do you have a career in medicine if you don’t want to be a doctor? And this is how.”
She spent the summer after graduation working in the Haller lab before being brought on full time to help lead a new biotech initiative. Now, in addition to her bench work analyzing inflammatory properties of algae and zebrafish, she’s gaining behind-the-scenes management experience.
“When I graduated, I was looking at research assistant positions, which would have been a lot of repetitive work,” she said. “Instead, I have the opportunity to learn so much more. I’m taking on a lot of different projects and getting exposure to every aspect of how a lab is run. To come right out of undergrad into a role with this much responsibility has been a lot of learning, but a lot of fun.”
The Linde Packman Lab for Biosciences Innovation gives students the ability to try different lab environments. The sciences are notorious for a fast-paced, competitive atmosphere—but at MDIBL, things look a little different. “There’s such a great community of collaboration here,” said Kuhn. “I chose Colby because I value that small-town feel, and I get that same sense here. Of course, it’s in such a beautiful location, too.”
Toulmin echoed Kuhn’s sentiments. “I got to be close with my mentor and the other research assistants—we all went swimming after our final presentations, for example,” he said. “I really appreciated that it was a place where I could learn and have fun.”
