The MDI Biological Laboratory (MDIBL), formerly known as Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory is an independent non-profit biomedical research institution founded in 1898 and located in Salisbury Cove, Maine, on Mount Desert Island. Its mission is to improve human health and well- being through basic research, education, and development ventures that transform discoveries into cures. In 2013, the Laboratory was designated a Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) by the National Institutes of Health, which awarded the Laboratory a grant of $13 million over five years to expand the institution's research program. The MDI Biological Laboratory has a full-time staff of 63, and will offer 23 research training courses in 2014.