Identification of the genes associated with human disease is essential to the development of new prognostic, diagnostic, and treatment options. However, to understand what happens when genes go wrong, we need to understand the normal function of all our genes. This can’t be done using humans, so experimental models similar to humans in their development, physiology, and disease state that are easy to study and genetically manipulate are needed. The mouse meets these criteria so it is the most widely used animal model in biomedical research today.

Website: www.biomonitoring2.org

Cancer is now, or will shortly become, the number one cause of death in developed countries. Hence, there is an obvious and urgent need to accelerate the development and rational application of new therapies. The central premise of our program is that achieving this goal will require the identification of new therapeutic targets, the rapid development of specific and effective drugs directed against these targets, and the testing of these agents in relevant models of human cancer.