About EMMA - Organisation
The Management Structure
In Europe, several research institutes are creating a huge number of medically relevant mouse mutants. The capacity to make
predetermined mutations in a mammalian genome and to mutate the genome on a large-scale basis stresses the need for professional,
well co-ordinated archiving and distribution capacity. To fully benefit from these mutant resources, it is important to archive and
distribute the most valuable lines in a concerted effort within Europe.
The European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA) was set up to fulfil this role. The formation of a consortium of several partners from
different European countries leads to a huge potential for EMMA as the central mouse mutant repository in Europe. To work at optimal
efficiency, different organisational levels have been created and implemented (see below).
The Director
Prof. Martin Hrabé de Angelis was announced director of EMMA by the EMMA Advisory Board. He is also director of the Institute of Experimental Genetics and of the German Mouse Clinic (GMC) at the GSF Research Center in Munich and holds an honorary research position at the EMMA facility in Monterotondo. Prof. Hrabé de Angelis is responsible for the overall coordination of EMMA. As EMMA Director, he leads the Board of Participating Directors, supervises the Project Office and reports to the Advisory Board.
The Project Office
The EMMA Project Office is based at the GSF Research Center in Munich at the Institute of Prof. Martin Hrabé de Angelis. The Project Office is run by two project managers, namely Dr. Michael Hagn and Dr. Sabine Fessele.
The Board of Participating Directors (BPD)
This board consists of the directors of each of the EMMA partner institutions. It is headed by the EMMA Director and discusses, agrees and decides on the recommendations from the Advisory Board and the Technical Working Group.
The Technical Working Group (TWG)
This panel is composed of leading "hands on" scientists or technicians from every partner and is headed by Dr. Hagn. It develops and agrees on EMMA common Standard Operation Protocols (SOPs) for quality control, archiving and distribution. The group's members also build a platform to discuss scientific and technical problems and upcoming trends in the field of strain archiving, animal husbandry and distribution of living animals and frozen germplasm. The Technical Working Group is joined by an expert from "The Jackson Laboratory" Maine, USA - the world's leading mouse mutant repository. This collaboration is essential to define and implement common international standards.
The Advisory Board (AVB)
The Advisory Board consists of experts in the field of modern mammalian genetics and supervises the EMMA network. This committee reviews and discusses the priorities set up by the EMMA Board of Participating Directors and gives advice. It also has responsibility for ensuring that the repository is run at high standards.
The Evaluation Committee
The Evaluation Committee consists of experts from the field of modern mouse genetics and ensures access to valuable mouse mutant strains. In cooperation with the Project Office, a major actitvity is the setting of priorities with regard to which strains of mice will be deposited in the repository. New members are proposed by the Advisory Board and appointed by the Board of Participating Directors.