General Application & Access Information
for
Mouse Congenic / Consomic Projects

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. Projects requesting genome scans for marker-assisted breeding strategies to create congenic or consomic strains of mice, so called speed congenic/consomic strains, are granted access to CIDR based primarily on the CAC's assessment of the following:

• scientific rationale for creating the congenic/consomic strain
• evidence of the investigator's ability to complete the screening of the N4 and N5 generations
• the investigator's plans for the next phase of the project after the congenic/consomic strain is made

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 as well as 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. If access to CIDR is granted, the investigator will receive a letter verifying CIDR's commitment to perform the genotyping. All investigators will receive feedback from the CAC that details the basis for its recommendation.

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.

CIDR will genotype progeny from two generations, the N2 and N3 generations. Once the samples from the N2 cross are submitted to CIDR, the Center will strive for a rapid turnaround time so that the investigator can choose the best breeders for the N3 generation, complete the breeding and submit those samples for genotyping. Only two rounds of genotyping will be supported by CIDR. After this, the investigator should be in a position to complete the project using targeted genotyping of specific chromosomes and chromosomal regions.