Developing New Skills for Mouse Neurogenetics Research

描述（由申请人提供）：小鼠遗传学和基因组学的发展使研究人员处于有利地位，可以检测，研究和从人类疾病的小鼠模型中获得见解，包括神经和行为缺陷。具体而言，基因发现的进展导致NIH在表型测定开发和大规模诱变中心的启动，其目标是检测、生产、表征和向研究界提供新的动物模型。杰克逊实验室（TJL）的神经科学诱变设施（NMF）是刚刚开始使用已经开发的表型分析产生突变体的三个中心之一。NMF的一个关键组成部分是，它必须保持领先地位，并与研究界的需求保持一致，不断发展其专业知识。相反，TJL和NMF在小鼠遗传学和遗传筛查方面拥有大量的专业知识，可为来访的科学家和学员提供。为了实现这些目标，在我们建议的一个轨道中，已建立的研究人员在NMF工作一个月到一年的访问研究员，选择他们在神经行为研究领域的专业知识，要么补充NMF，要么有能力大大提高它。反过来，这些研究人员学习如何将他们的方法应用于小鼠的遗传筛查，这通常意味着学习如何评估多个基因型的参数，如何检测异常值以及如何从高通量测定中提取最多的特定信息。在这里赞助这类活动的一个独特优势是，NMF是一个集中的设施，大部分筛查都是在“一个屋檐下”完成的，因此提供了积累、巩固这些培训经验的机会，并有可能将这些培训经验有效地融入我们的操作程序。在第二个轨道，先进的本科生或博士前的学生来到NMF学习小鼠神经遗传学的基础知识，并与实验室小鼠一起工作，同时获得他们的贡献对我们的计划很重要的感觉。学生来自TJL的长期学生计划或被确定为访问调查员家庭团体的特殊候选人。TJL在这些课程和各种课程和会议方面的经验有助于提高学生对培训的看法。这两个轨道都要求在培训期之前制定研究计划，并且都有评估成功的方法。我们要求资金支持两名访问调查员和两名学生在任何特定时间的旅行和住宿，加上用品，动物护理资源和教师工资需要支持这些活动。

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.