“Mouse models let us mimic genetic alterations that cause devastating illnesses, which are killing millions of people. From there, we can map out potential cures and treatments,” says Janet Rossant, a world-leading developmental biologist who is Chief of Research at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and Director of CMHD.
The centre relies on the mouse genome to produce new models of human diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and uses sophisticated clinical tools like a mouse MRI and CT scans that allow researchers to monitor diseases in mice more closely than they can be monitored in humans.
Soon researchers should be able to study a large number of mice while at the same time examining interactions among multiple genes in each mouse. This has the potential to dramatically speed up the fight against diseases in humans, something Rossant looks forward to in her quest to better understand human biology.
