Informatics, Coordination and Service Center for the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers (U42 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to provide continuing support for the Informatics, Coordination and Service Center (ICSC) unit of the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers (MMRRC) consortium. The ICSC is expected to provide informatics and coordinating services to the MMRRC consortium and biomedical researchers. Important functions of the ICSC are improvement, development, and maintenance of the Consortium’s in-house data management systems in a format that may facilitate their integration with other animal and non-animal resource databases and community standards for information accessibility and interoperability. Additional services include maintenance and further development of a public website portal and Customer Service Center; operation of the order processing system; review and processing of applications from donating investigators; facilitation of interactions with biomedical investigators, informatics services, database activities, and the archive of MMRRC documents and files; coordination of requests to donate mouse strains to the MMRRCs and to order mouse strains from the MMRRCs; oversight of marketing efforts; and completion of monthly and yearly metrics reports. Moreover, the ICSC will host and actively participate in the monthly teleconference, annual consortium meeting, and compose reports and summaries from these forums as requested by MMRRC consortium members or NIH staff. Of special interest of the announcement is a requirement of the Center’s close coordination with efforts to develop new approach methodologies (NAMs) that complement traditional animal-based research. These include cell culture, organoids, computational models, and microphysiological systems. Proposed activities should include collection and analysis of the comparative information on the use of NAMs that enhance the predictive power of human disease models and support their integration with traditional models.