Mouse Modelers' Marriage
To unite the efforts of scientists working to develop mouse models of human cancers, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently formed a consortium of 19 top-tier groups of cancer investigators hailing from more than 30 institutions. Driven by NCI funds, $4.5 million for the first six months and a total commitment of $15 million, it's an experimental arrangement that could become a model for future programs. The consortium will establish a repository for mouse models, sperm, and cryopreserved embryos, as well as a common database for mouse model data on cancer-related genes and pathways, model validity, new approaches to detection and diagnosis, and new ways to evaluate prevention and treatment. Both the database and the repository will be accessible to the entire scientific community. Consortium labs will, however, continue to work on their respective projects separately. According to the director of NCI's Division of Cancer Biology, Dinah ...
