A new transpacific academic partnership in mouse biology aimed at advancing biomedical research has been established by the University of California, Davis, and the University of Sydney, Australia. The new collaboration, recently formalized in Leura, Australia, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding, is intended to promote basic scientific and technical research, and graduate education, at both institutions. "We're excited about the synergy that this new partnership with the University of Sydney will create," said Kent Lloyd, associate director of the Mouse Biology Program at UC Davis. "The research and graduate education programs in mouse biology at both of our institutions are young and vital. This collaboration will stimulate scientific exchange and improve the availability of resources for mouse-based research throughout the Pacific Rim and elsewhere around the world." The goal of the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program is to become a leader in the area of "functional genomics," the study of how genes operate in people and animals. The program is focused on the genetic basis of mammalian development and diseases that afflict humans and animals. The program was established in 1997 to support campus scientists conducting integrative-biology research using genetically altered mice. It includes a laboratory that produces "transgenic" mice that have new genes inserted into their genetic code and "knockout" mice that have certain genes inactivated for biomedical studies. UC Davis expertise in these areas earned it support from the National Institutes of Health to establish one of four national repositories of genetically altered mice, known as the Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center. Also, the program's Murine Targeted Genomics Laboratory is a member of a National Institutes of Health consortium created to improve methods -- including intracytoplasmic sperm injection, cryopreservation and freeze-drying -- for storing and preserving mouse embryos and other reproductive material. The University of Sydney is about to launch a major building program that will create a rodent facility for mouse research and for storing, breeding, producing and distributing specific disease-free genetically engineered mice, as well as conventional mice. The modern four-story facility, to be built on the University of Sydney's Camperdown campus, is expected to be up and running within two years. "It's suddenly become clear that all of us who work with laboratory animals are likely to find ourselves needing to use specifically engineered animals of one kind or another," said Professor John Young, pro-vice chancellor of the University of Sydney's College of Health Sciences. "So, convergence of a wish to have ordinary laboratory animals free of diseases of unknown molecular biological effects, and a desire to work with genetically transformed animals, has come together and created in my mind the sense of certainty that the University of Sydney needs a new facility in which this could happen." Together, the leaders of both programs plan to establish links with other research institutions to promote the exchange of scientific information. As their joint programs evolve, they hope to be able to provide genetically altered mice to meet the needs of biomedical researchers throughout the Pacific Rim. The two programs also will work together to sponsor conferences, courses and symposia and will exchange publications as well as teaching and research materials.