University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
Grant: $246,555 - Department of Health and Human Services - Sep. 4, 2009
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Award Description: A Carolina Center to Characterize and Maintain Mutant Mice (ARRA)3U42RR014817-10S1 The laboratory mouse is the premier genetic model for modeling human disease. With continuing advances in gene targeting, engineering mouse mutants has become a staple in biomedical research, but maintaining and distributing the resultant pathogen-free mouse strains is both labor-intensive and costly for individual investigators to sustain long-term. The UNC-Chapel Hill Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center (MMRRC) is one of three distribution centers established by the NIH/NCRR to provide a publicly accessible repository for archiving and distributing the large number of genetically modified mouse strains generated by the research community. An important function of the Center is curation of strain information for all of the accepted MMRRC strains in the repository. This ARRA supplement was awarded to fill the emerging need for a data curator at MMRRC-UNC and provides funding to hire 1 FTE to fill this position. The Data Curator is responsible for collecting the complete set of metadata associated with the acquisition, operations/maintenance, and biology of each strain. This information includes: strain nomenclature, specifics of genetic background, strain development information, nature of the mutation, genotyping/breeding protocols, related research domains/biomedical value, publication references, and any phenotypic information. This information is compiled and checked for accuracy by the Curator when the strain is submitted and updated as necessary. A Strain Information file is generated, deposited in the strain database, and linked to the MMRRC catalog. The Curator will be fluent in data entry and informatics, and will interface with the manager of the local database at UNC-Chapel Hill, Hemant Kelkar, to ensure effective data organization and storage. In addition, they will work closely with strain curators at the other MMRRC centers and the Informatics Coordination and Service Center (ICSC at The Jackson Lab)to coordinate efficient transmission of information from the MMRRC-UNC to the ICSC maintained database. These data are made available at the MMRRC public website (mmrrc.org. Providing access to strain information is essential for full utilization of the MMRRC resource by the research community and this position is critical for this function.
Project Description: We have been coordinating with with our HR facilitator to advertise and hire for the funded position since we received the award on September 4, 2009. We anticipate that once the position has been posted for the requisite 30 days we will hire a suitable candidate. To maintain productivity during the hiring process, starting October 1 we will temporarily utilize the skills of Dr. Tom Randall, a Research Associate in the UNC Center for Bioinformatics. Tom has extensive experience with database management and a background in genetics. This will ensure a seamless transition once the permanent position is filled.
Jobs Summary: Starting October 1, we will temporarily fill the 1 FTE created by the supplement utilizing an experienced Bioinformatics Research Associate here at UNC. We anticipate the permanent position will be created and filled in the next month and will be reported in the next quarterly report. (Total jobs reported: 0)
Project Status: Not Started
This award's data was last updated on Sep. 4, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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