Mouse Core

Rodent models of diabetes and its complications provide fundamental insights into the molecular basis of human disease. The investigators of the Columbia Diabetes Research Center (DRC) employ more than one hundred murine models to study the development, pathology and complications of diabetes and related disorders. Modern tools to study diabetes in rodents and experimental manipulation of mice often requires expensive equipment and technical skills that are beyond the means of individual investigators. The Mouse Metabolic Function & Phenotyping Core (MMFPC) provides efficient, cost-effective, and timely services to DRC investigators that enables researchers to carry out experiments that otherwise would be beyond their ability. The MMFPC has been in great demand during the current funding cycle and has evolved significantly since the last submission to meet the changing needs of DRC investigators. The MMFPC has proven broadly successful in achieving its mission of assisting individual investigators in characterizing metabolic phenotypes of mice. The MMFPC currently provides four broad services that facilitate the efficient characterization of mouse models of diabetes and its complications: (i) Body Composition Analysis, (ii) Whole Body Metabolic Assessment, (iii) Metabolic Clamps, and (iv) Metabolic Procedures & Surgeries. A service to isolate and characterize extracellular vesicles is being implemented with a tentative start date of July 2022. The MMFPC services complement those provided by other DRC Cores, so that investigators who take advantage of DRC resources can fully characterize the histologic, immunologic, and metabolic function and phenotype of mice. The Core has been built through the strong support of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and Columbia University. In response to investigator surveys and since our last competing renewal, we now provide a suite of surgical procedures that will facilitate studies of the development and pathophysiology of diabetes. Projections indicate that demand for Core services will remain high as we strengthen and grow our research base.