Delivering and phenotyping mouse models for the respiratory community: a report on the Biochemical Society Workshop

The IMPC (International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium) was launched recently, and its aim is to develop and phenotype mouse knockouts of 4000 genes over the next 5 years and, ultimately, of all 20000 or so genes in the mouse genome. As part of the IMPC, the MRC (Medical Research Council) also launched a call for MRC mouse networks, where groups of U.K.-based researchers could form a consortium based around a particular area of research. Members of the respiratory research community formed the RDDRC (Respiratory Development and Disease Research Consortium) to consolidate and develop respiratory phenotyping methods suitable for high-throughput screening. This paper, arising from a Biochemical Society workshop held in London in 2012, highlights the purposes of the RDDRC and the needs of the respiratory research community.