Model organism databases are in jeopardy

Show support for your MODs!

GSA President Hugo Bellen and Vice-President E. Jane Hubbard are among the co-authors of a recent Perspectives article in Development titled “Model organism databases are in jeopardy.” The article describes the importance of model organism databases (MODs), the threat posed by NIH MOD budget cuts, and possible solutions.

“We are deeply concerned that the support for these vital databases is in jeopardy due to large cuts in their grant budgets. We fear these budget cuts will slow biomedical research worldwide and create increased waste of resources due to duplication of efforts. Indeed, the cuts threaten to erode access to reliable, expertly fact-checked data and cause an increase in mis-information due to the degraded organization of knowledge and information.”
— Bellen et al. 2021

Want to help? The NIH has put out a request for information on user experience with scientific data sources and tools. This brief survey is a great opportunity to let the NIH know how much you value MODs and how reduced funding for these important tools would impact your productivity. The deadline for responses is October 15, 2021. Skip straight to the survey link here.

Model Organism Databases, Research Funding

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