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Mamm Genome (2012) 23:225231 DOI 10.1007/s00335-012-9390-6
MEETING REPORT
Mouse genetics 2011: meeting report
John K. Simmons Jessica C. Amlin-Van Schaick
Thomas R. Geiger Karlyne Reilly
Kent Hunter Beverly A. Mock
Received: 9 December 2011 / Accepted: 5 January 2012 / Published online: 23 February 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC (outside the USA) 2012
Introduction
Mouse Genetics 2011 was organized by the Genetics Society of America in Washington, DC, as a joint meeting of the 25th International Mammalian Genome Conference and the 10th Complex Traits Community Meeting.1
While celebrating the incredible progress made by the eld in the last 25 years, this years joint meeting illuminated the incredible possibility for the future. As genome-level studies have revolutionized the pace for discovering the genetic underpinnings of human disease, an unprecedented opportunity exists for integrating those ndings with model organism genetics to achieve the common goals of both understanding and improving human disease. The keynote address, Verne Chapman Lecture, plenary presentations, and numerous platform talks all described work highlighting advances where the interface of mouse models and human genetics has led to an extraordinary understanding of the mechanisms of a disease or propelled a discovery into clinical development.
Overarching themes: highlights from the keynote address and Verne Chapman Lecture
Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health, delivered the keynote address entitled Mickey, Mendel, and the Medical Magic of Mouse Genetics. In his talk, Collins provided a brief overview of the current large NIH-sponsored efforts related to mouse models for understanding human disease and biology, including the $47.2 million Knockout Mouse Project (KOMP, komp.org), which had to date already generated 8,199 knockout embryonic stem (ES) cells; the newly announced $110 million phenotyping project designed to generate comprehensive phenotypic data on knockout mice generated in KOMP (called KOMP2); and the expansion of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project to include the mouse genome using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The KOMP and KOMP2 projects join with European and Canadian efforts to make up the International Knockout Mouse Consortium. Collins then went on to discuss work from his own laboratory that is focused on three projects where mouse models are being employed to understand the genetics of human disease and develop medical interventions....