Developing New Skills for Mouse Neurogenetics Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Developments in mouse genetics and genomics have put researchers in a strong position to detect, study and derive insight from mouse models for human disorders, including those for neurological and behavioral defects. Specifically, advances in gene discovery led to the launch of NIH initiatives in phenotype assay development and in large-scale mutagenesis centers with the goal to detect, produce, characterize and make available new animal models to the research community. The Neuroscience Mutagenesis Facility (NMF) at The Jackson Laboratory (TJL) is one of three Centers which has just started to produce mutants using phenotyping assays already developed. A critical component of the NMF is that it must remain cutting edge and in tune with the research community's needs, continually evolving its body of expertise. Conversely, TJL and the NMF have a great deal of expertise in mouse genetics and forward genetic screens to offer to visiting scientists and trainees. Towards these ends, in one track of our proposal, established investigators work in the NMF for a period of one month to one year as Visiting Investigators, selected for their expertise in an area of neurobehavioral research that either complements the NMF or has the ability to greatly enhance it. In turn, these investigators learn how to apply their approaches to forward genetic screens in mouse, which typically means learning how to evaluate parameters across multiple genotypes, how to detect outliers and how to extract the most amount of specific information from a high-throughput assay. A unique advantage of sponsoring this type of activity here is that the NMF is a centralized facility with most of the screening done "under one roof," thus offering the chance to accumulate, consolidate and potentially to install these training experiences efficiently into our operating procedures. In the second track, advanced undergraduate or predoctoral students come to the NMF to learn the basics of mouse neurogenetics and working with laboratory mice while gaining the sense that their contribution is important to our program. Students come from TJL's longstanding student programs or are identified as exceptional candidates from Visiting Investigators' home groups. TJL's experience with these programs and diverse slate of courses and conferences serve to enhance a student's perspective on their training. Both tracks require development of research plans in advance of the training period, and both have methods in place to evaluate success. We request funds to support the travel and lodging of two Visiting Investigators and two Students at any given time, plus the supplies, animal care resources and faculty salary required to support these activities.