(NMGN) – Data Platform development: Director’s Core grant supplement

Mice with precisely edited human disease genes will be studied across a UK-wide network, and the resulting data will be shared through a central platform. This matters because many human diseases—from cancer to neurodegenerative conditions—have a genetic component that cannot be fully studied in cells or tissues alone. Animal research is only used when no alternatives exist, but where it is necessary, genetically altered mice can closely mimic human disease processes. The National Mouse Genetics Network (NMGN) brings together multiple research groups working on different diseases, but without a shared system for organising and accessing their findings, valuable data remains scattered and harder to use. The Data Platform will collect, standardise, and make available the knowledge generated across the network. If successful, it will accelerate the development of new diagnostics and treatments by allowing researchers to compare results, avoid duplicating work, and build on each other’s discoveries. This is primarily a fundamental science infrastructure project—it does not directly produce a new drug or device. But similar data-sharing platforms in genomics have already transformed how quickly rare disease genes are identified, and this platform aims to do the same for understanding how genetic changes cause disease in living organisms.