All investigators requesting access to the CIDR genotyping facility must prepare an application to be evaluated by the CIDR Access Committee (CAC) and the Board of Governors (BOG). The CAC is a standing NIH committee comprised of scientists who have expertise in gene mapping and genetic dissection of complex diseases. The CAC evaluates an application for the likelihood that genotyping a set of samples with the MHC panel(s) will lead to the identification of genetic variants contributing to the trait.

The BOG is comprised of the Directors of the thirteen supporting institutes or their designees. The BOG meets the month after the meeting of the CAC and makes the final decision about which projects are accepted for genotyping. This decision is based primarily on the CAC's recommendation, but the BOG's assessment of the significance of the project and the genotyping capacity of CIDR will also be factors. The BOG, in consultation with the CIDR Principal Investigator and the Genotyping Lab Director, sets the queue for projects entering CIDR.

Extramural NIH grantees supported by a participating institute require prior approval from the institute liaison before submitting an application to CIDR. Intramural NIH investigators should contact Dr. Camilla Day before preparing an application.

Investigators are expected to provide justification for requesting the human MHC panel(s). There may be study designs where investigators are not required to have all the samples collected before applying to CIDR. Investigators who plan to apply for NIH funding in order to initiate such projects can apply for access to CIDR before submitting an NIH grant application. If access to CIDR is granted, the investigator will receive a letter verifying CIDR's commitment to perform the genotyping. See Application Deadlines for guidance about the timing of submission. All investigators will receive feedback from the CAC that details the basis for its recommendation.

CIDR requires that projects with multiple collection sites coordinate submission of samples and related family information through a single point of contact.

The primary criterion used by the CAC is the likelihood that the project will narrow a linkage region and/or identify the variant(s) contributing to the trait. Since projects granted access to CIDR might exceed the genotyping capabilities of the Center, the BOG will prioritize the successful projects. In reaching these decisions, the CAC will evaluate each of the following:

• Approximate number of samples and whether the project requires a large-capacity genotyping facility
• Appropriateness of the investigator's study design including the quality and completeness of the phenotyping
• Significance and complexity of the disorder/trait
• Strength of the genetic effect, e.g., the strength of the linkage signal from previous genome-wide screens
• Rationale for selecting the MHC SNP genotyping panel(s)
• Ability of the investigator to manage the large amount of data that is generated by large genotyping projects
• Appropriateness of the proposed analytical methods, including software to be used, and the ability of the investigator(s) to apply them
• Appropriateness of the study population and availability of adequate numbers of subjects
• Plans for follow-up studies after the SNP genotyping has been completed