Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers (U42) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers (MMRRC) (U42) funding opportunity?

This funding opportunity (RFA-OD-14-003) is an NIH cooperative agreement (U42) intended to keep the national MMRRC consortium operating and to advance it as a key piece of biomedical research infrastructure. Its central mission is to make genetically engineered mutant mouse strains broadly available to the research community through a coordinated national system.

What is the main purpose of this program?

The program is designed to build and maintain a coordinated pipeline that identifies valuable mutant mouse lines, brings them into the MMRRC program, checks their quality and scientific utility, preserves them for long-term availability, and distributes them efficiently to qualified investigators. The goal is to reduce duplication (so researchers do not have to recreate the same lines) and to improve speed, documentation, and consistency of access to mouse models.

What types of mouse models and materials does the MMRRC system support?

The MMRRC system functions as a public-facing repository and service network for transgenic, knockout, and other engineered mouse models, along with related biomaterials. The emphasis is on making well-documented genetically engineered mutant mouse strains available broadly and reliably.

How is the MMRRC consortium structured under this FOA?

The FOA supports a regional network made up of four MMRRC centers plus a separate Informatics, Coordination and Service Center (ICSC). These parts are intended to operate as a single coordinated consortium rather than as isolated repositories.

What do the four MMRRC centers do?

The MMRRC centers conduct the hands-on operational work, including acquiring strains, performing evaluation and characterization activities, conducting cryopreservation, and fulfilling distribution requests from qualified investigators.

What is the Informatics, Coordination and Service Center (ICSC) and what does it do?

The ICSC is described as the coordinating "glue" of the system. It supports consortium-wide coordination, shared informatics and data systems, and helps ensure scientists can search for, request, and obtain mouse models through a unified interface and consistent policies across the consortium.

Does the FOA expect the consortium to use shared standards and procedures?

Yes. A key expectation is that the consortium uses mutually agreed-upon standard operating procedures. This reflects an emphasis on common quality controls, harmonized workflows, and predictable service practices across participating sites.

What does it mean that this award is a cooperative agreement (U42)?

The U42 mechanism typically indicates substantial NIH program involvement compared with a standard research grant. While the provided summary does not list specific milestones or governance requirements, the cooperative agreement structure generally aligns with NIH and awardees collaborating on oversight, coordination, and broader network goals.

Is this opportunity meant to fund hypothesis-driven research projects?

Based on the description, the opportunity is aimed at maintaining and improving shared national research capacity and infrastructure rather than supporting a single laboratory's hypothesis-driven research project. This is reinforced by the CFDA listing as a Research Infrastructure Program (93.351).

What is the funding activity category and CFDA number for this program?

The funding activity category is Health, and the CFDA listing is 93.351 (Research Infrastructure Programs).

How many awards did NIH anticipate making and what was the estimated total funding?

NIH anticipated making four awards with an estimated total funding amount of $5.6 million.

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity did not require cost sharing or matching.

When was this FOA posted and when did applications close?

The FOA was posted on January 24, 2014. The application closing date was May 1, 2014.

Is this specific announcement still active?

No. The FOA was archived on June 1, 2014, and the listed due date indicates the specific announcement cycle is long closed. The summary still describes the mission and operating model for that round of support.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was limited to U.S.-based organizations. Eligible applicants included public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education).

Are foreign institutions or foreign components eligible?

No. Foreign institutions could not apply. Non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations were not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) were not allowed.

What kinds of capabilities would applicants need to be competitive for this program?

The description implies applicants would need the ability to operate significant mouse resource infrastructure and participate effectively in a coordinated national consortium, including strain acquisition, quality evaluation and characterization, cryopreservation, distribution operations, and/or informatics and coordination functions (depending on whether applying as a center or the ICSC).

What are the core functions supported by this MMRRC infrastructure?

The core functions described include identifying and acquiring important strains from the community, verifying and characterizing them to improve reliability and usability, cryopreserving them for long-term protection and reduced breeding burden, and distributing them broadly using consistent standards and strong informatics support.

How does this program benefit the broader research community?

The intended impact is to accelerate biomedical discovery by lowering duplication of effort, improving reproducibility, enabling faster access to well-documented models, and ensuring that high-value engineered mouse models remain available, traceable, consistently managed, and protected against loss.

How do researchers access mouse models in this system?

The consortium is intended to provide a unified interface and consistent policies so scientists can search for, request, and obtain mouse models through coordinated informatics and service functions supported by the ICSC and implemented across the centers.

What does "coordinated pipeline" mean in the context of this FOA?

It refers to an end-to-end process spanning identification of valuable mouse lines, acquisition into the program, quality and utility checks, preservation (including cryopreservation), and distribution to qualified investigators, carried out using harmonized procedures across the consortium.

Why is cryopreservation emphasized as part of the program?

Cryopreservation is described as part of preserving strains for long-term use, protecting against loss, and reducing ongoing breeding burdens, supporting long-term availability of valuable mouse models.