State Rep. Lezlye Zupkus Tours Jackson Labs

State Representative Lezlye Zupkus (R-Prospect) recently visited The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, located on the UConn Health Center campus in Farmington, for a tour with Michael Hyde, Vice President for External Affairs, and Kathleen Corbet, member of the Board of Trustees.

Rep. Zupkus visited The Jackson Laboratory to learn more about the eighteen month-old CT biomedical research facility and the current genomic studies underway, which include cancer research.

“Whether or not folks were happy with how Jackson Labs came to Connecticut, I think we can all agree it is important that now that they are here, they be the best they can be,” said Zupkus, a member of the legislature’s Human Services committee.  “As medicine and healthcare continue to evolve and change, we too, need to be flexible and adaptive. Jackson Labs is at the forefront of cutting edge research that may one day produce life-saving medicine for diseases, including cancer. I’d like to offer my thanks to Mr. Hyde and Ms. Corbet for their time and shared commitment to advancing bioscience and precision medicine.”

The facility currently employs over 200 employees, of whom, 50% were Connecticut residents at the time of hire. Plans to expand the lab even further are being considered as the facility can accommodate up to 350 employees.  Jackson Laboratory offers educational programs for high school students and teachers (empowering them to teach genomics in the classroom), and college and graduate students.

According to the website, The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center with campuses located in Bar Harbor, ME and Sacramento, CA.

Photo:
State Rep. Lezlye Zupkus (at center) speaks with Kathleen Corbet (at left) and Michael Hyde (at right) during a tour of The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine located in Farmington.