Diversity Outbred Pilot Grant Program

Understanding the Impacts of Genetic Diversity on Experimental Outcomes

Research studies are typically designed with the intention of reducing the number of experimental variables. While this can be helpful to support mechanistic research, reducing variability can also impact translatability. This is particularly relevant in mouse research where inbred mice are commonly used. Testing in a single inbred mouse is genetically akin to testing in a single human, and this has led to a number of reproducibility issues in the clinic. Genetically diverse mouse populations such as Diversity Outbred (DO) mice were created to overcome these limitations, and represent a unique opportunity to investigate the impact of genetic diversity on experimental outcomes.

To better understand genetic diversity and its role in translatability, The Jackson Laboratory is launching the Diversity Outbred Pilot Grant Program. It is our mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health. Through the Pilot Grant Program, we aim to identify novel solutions to more accurately model human biology in experimental systems.

Key Dates for 2022

Open Date .......................... 10/03/2022

Application Due Date ......... 12/02/2022

Notification of Award ......... 01/20/2023

Award Information

Overview

The Diversity Outbred Pilot Grant Program will provide awards in two forms:

JDO1: Up to $10,000 in direct research funds and up to 50 Diversity Outbred mice
JDO2: Up to 50 Diversity Outbred mice

Applicants are requested to submit a single proposal, and applications will be evaluated and tiered based on the criteria outlined in the Funding Announcement.

For proposals requesting >50 mice, a supplement to the application is required to justify the need for this number of mice.

The Pilot Grant Program is meant to support direct research costs only, and is not intended to support overhead, salaries, major equipment, travel, or publication submission fees.

Eligibility

Applicants must be affiliated with an academic, government, or nonprofit institution in North America to be eligible for award.

Areas of Interest

The Diversity Outbred Pilot Grant Program is open to investigators across all biomedical research areas including, but not limited to: oncology, immunology, neurobiology, infectious disease, metabolism, cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, and hematology.

Funding is intended to support small scale research studies incorporating DO mice into standard experimental workflows. Ideal studies will compare results in DO mice to those obtained in inbred mice and/or to studies with human cells or tissues. The Pilot Grant Program is not meant for quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping studies, but may be used to generate preliminary data for future work in this area.

Publication

All recipients will be required to publish a research product of their project results within 18 months of award receipt. Acceptable research products include: