Dettagli: Pubblichiamo l' accorata richiesta di aiuto del Prof. Steve Brown per la paventata chiusura del sito di Hartwell dove è in attività la più grande ed efficiente tra le Mouse Clinic europee. Come chiaramente spiegato nella lettera del Prof. Brown, la chiusura del sito causerebbe un danno enorme non solo alla ricerca inglese, ma a tutte le attività europee riguardanti lo studio della genetica dei topi e il loro utilizzo per la comprensione della fisiologia e patologia dei mammiferi. Di seguito il testo della lettera.
Proposed closure of academic research at MRC Harwell Institute
In summer of 2018, the MRC instituted a Strategic Review of mouse genetics in the UK following the announcement from Steve Brown, Director of the MRC Harwell Institute, of his intention to retire over the next couple of years. The Strategic Review would assess the landscape for mouse genetics, particularly in the context of genomic and precision medicine, and inform on the UK’s investment and MRC Harwell’s role in this area. An initial expert panel was convened and met once on September 11. Its report went forward to a subsequent MRC Strategy Board discussion on March 27 this year. Following this discussion, Strategy Board recommended that academic research at MRC Harwell should cease and thus the research arm of MRC Harwell, the Mammalian Genetics Unit (MGU), should close. Strategy Board have recommended that the Mary Lyon Centre (MLC), the animal facility arm at Harwell, remains open and will act as a national hub with long-term partnerships with academic clusters across the UK – a "hub-and-spoke" model. The Strategy Board also recommended that there should be no further MRC investment in the International Mouse Phenotype Consortium (IMPC). The MRC emphasise that the closure of MGU does not reflect the "value and quality" of the current research programmes.
Regrettably, we cannot provide you with more detail on the nature of the "hub-and-spoke" model as this has not been considered, nor have scientific, financial or operational risk assessments of the model been undertaken. Moreover, no business planning or wider consultation has been initiated by MRC Head Office or is anticipated in the near future that would allow a fuller understanding of the risks and threats from this recommendation. Following staff and union consultation over the next month, the Strategy Board will review their recommendation in September and make a final decision. This decision will then go to MRC Council for a final decision in December.
We believe that the closure of academic research at MRC Harwell is a major threat to mouse genetics in the UK, and a major threat to MRC Harwell as an internationally-leading campus for mouse genetics, offering leadership in diverse research areas that already drive highly impactful scientific outreach, in the form of collaborations, services and resources across the UK and beyond. As an example, the Data Science research team at MRC Harwell, which is world leading and underpins UK mouse genetics research and the work of the IMPC, would disperse. The proposal of Strategy Board runs counter to the investments at leading mouse centres worldwide that recognise the importance of intimate integration of research, technology development, data science, facilities, services and training on a unified campus. In addition, the international leadership of MRC Harwell and international impact and engagement through international programmes, such as IMPC, would quickly decline.
Mouse genetics is key to the future of biomedical sciences. It provides a vital engine for genome-wide studies of gene function, including both coding and non-coding elements. It is already delivering highly impactful studies into rare disease variants and Mendelian disorders, and through large-scale studies of gene function illuminating the dark genome and underpinning our understanding of complex disease. For example, most of the GWA loci for common human disease are poorly characterised in terms of the underlying causal variants and genes and there is a critical need to translate these loci into mechanisms. The mouse remains one of the key instruments in identifying and studying these genetic mechanisms. Without an integrated approach including the mouse these loci would otherwise remain ambiguous. Moreover, it is a critical, in vivo, model, for the discovery of mechanistic insights into disease and biological systems and the development of new therapies. Overall, the UK’s ability to respond to challenges in genomic and precision medicine will be severely compromised by the current proposal from Strategy Board.
We ask you for a letter, addressed to the MRC Strategy Board, that emphasises
- Concern at the decision
- The unique environment provided by MRC Harwell and its important role in delivering impactful scientific outreach, services and resources
- The risks of closure of the IMPC programme placing international leadership, international impact and engagement at risk and requests that the Strategy Board reconsider their decision and makes a careful scientific, financial and operational assessment of the hub-and-spoke model alongside other models for the delivery of a national strategy for mouse genetics.
We would appreciate if you could send us your letters, signed as attachment or e-signed via email (see below ) by July 17th.
Signed by:
Professor Steve Brown, Dr Mike Bowl, Professor Roger Cox, Dr Tom Cunningham, Professor Lizzy Fisher, Dr Andy Greenfield, Professor Chris Holmes, Dr Derek Hood, Dr Ann-Marie Mallon, Dr Pat Nolan, Dr Dominic Norris, Dr Peter Oliver, Dr Nanda Rodrigues, Dr Sara Wells
Professor Steve Brown FMedSci FRS
Director
MRC Harwell Institute, Mammalian Genetics Unit
Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
Website: www.har.mrc.ac.uk
Mail: S.Brown@har.mrc.ac.uk
Advancing medicine and knowledge through the discovery and investigation of mouse models of human disease
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