Hiroshi Masuya, Head of Integrated Bioresource Information Division and Atsushi Yoshiki, Head of Experimental Animal Division participated in the SMIR workshop (Fig. 1) and presented slides entitled "Update status of mouse resources and informatics at RIKEN BRC" on September 25. The follow-up panel discussion with IMGC 2019 participants was conducted in the evening of September 26 (Photo).

Mouse informatics resources are valuable and essential tools in life sciences. For the goal biomedical research community, the safe and continuous availability of these resources is a necessary prerequisite for the future development of Precision Medicine.

Globally, the long-term sustainability of the existing tools is facing some challenges. How to advance them and make future-proof, is a constant task for researchers and funders worldwide.

The INFRAFRONTIER workshop aimed to openly discuss the status quo of the international Mouse Informatics Resources in Europe, North America and Asia presented their tools, approaches, and ideas for improvements like cloud storage, the use of artificial intelligence and ongoing international cooperation.

Reference URL

INRFAFRONTIER: https://www.infrafrontier.eu

EMMA (European Mouse Mutant Archive): https://www.infrafrontier.eu/infrafrontier-research-infrastructure/organisation/european-mouse-mutant-archive

RIKEN BRC (RIKEN BioResource Research Center): https://ja.brc.riken.jp

MMRRC (Mutant Mouse Resource & Research Center): https://mmrrc.ucdavis.edu

IMPC (International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium): https://www.mousephenotype.org

MGI (Mouse Genome Informatics): http://www.informatics.jax.org

RGD (Rat Genome Database): https://rgd.mcw.edu

ALLIANCE of Genome Resources: https://www.alliancegenome.org

IMSR (International Mouse Strain Resource): http://findmice.org

ELIXIR: https://elixir-europe.org/about-us

Fig. 1. Presenting organizations and scientists

Photo: Workshop and panel discussion in IMGC 2019