Our Services and Facilities

The McLaughlin Research Institute is the closest biomedical research institution to more than two thirds of residents of Montana. We seek to bring opportunity for participation in biomedical research and education to those in urban and rural communities across the state.

Transgenic Facility

  • The McLaughlin Research Institute Transgenic Facility was established in response to the need for transgenic and reproductive technologies by Institute investigators. Today, it offers a variety of services to investigators at McLaughlin Research Institute and from other institutions. This facility provides services necessary for investigators to create new mouse models for disease as well as models for testing gene function. Additional services include cryopreservation of mouse embryos and sperm, and rederivation of mouse lines to specific pathogen free status.

    Facility Director, Dr. Teresa Gunn, works closely with requesting scientists to fulfill services as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

  • CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing (experimental design service also offered)

    Pronuclear Injection

    ES Cell Injection

    In Vitro Fertilization

    Rederivation of mouse lines to specific pathogen free status

    Embryo cryopreservation and recovery

    Sperm cryopreservation and recovery

    Please contact Dr. Gunn, using the form below, for service pricing.

Animal Resource Center

  • The MRI Animal Resource Center is a state-of-the-art facility, designed specifically to house mice in a safe and clean environment. The ARC facility was designed and constructed to meet exacting regulatory standards required for the operation of research animal facilities. The ARC has been fully AAALAC accredited since 1996.

    McLaughlin Research Institute staff includes AALAS-certified Animal Care Technicians, Certified Veterinary Technicians, as well as skilled Cage Wash Technicians.

    MRI’s Animal Resource Center currently has excess capacity over current faculty needs that is now available to help meet the demand for biomedical discovery and transgenic mouse services.

  • Provide healthy, genetically defined, specific-pathogen-free mice for use in IACUC-approved research, educational and testing protocols.

    Ensure that research mice are cared for in a humane and appropriate manner by the provision of modern, well-maintained facilities, trained personnel, technical support, veterinary care and monitoring of animal care and use.

    Work with Institute scientists and collaborators to ensure the availability of resources and technical assistance for their research projects.

    Ensure that only pathogen-free mice are introduced into the facility by maintaining an active quarantine program and by working with the transgenic mouse facility to re-derive mice from other organizations that test positive for mouse pathogens.

    Maintain an active surveillance and sentinel program for mouse pathogens.

    Ensure observance of ethical standards and federal regulations pertaining to the care and use of mice for research, education and testing at McLaughlin Research Institute.

  • Rose Pitstick
    Animal Resource Facility Director
    rose@mclaughlinresearch.org

HERO:
Help Expand Research Opportunities

HERO Registry

The Challenge

Montana has the 6th oldest population ratio in the nation, with 18.5% of our total population over the age of 65. Given that the risk of development of neurodegenerative diseases increases with age, promoting the expansion of science and medicine via clinical research that targets advancements in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases is a priority concern in our state.

The Need

The need for clinical research expansion in our state is vital. Montana has consistently ranked in the bottom 10% when it comes to participation and representation in clinical research in the United States. Of the clinical research that has been done in Montana, the vast majority of studies have focused on cancer research, with only 7.6% of total studies over time focusing on neurological disorders, and a meager 0.3% aimed at Alzheimer’s disease which, according to 2020 data from National Center for Health Statistics, is the 7th leading cause of death both nationally and locally in Montana.

The Solution

Scientists at the Institute are spearheading this patient registry which allows the Institute to enroll Montanans in potential clinical trials and research studies. They will use the registry to enroll individuals with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS and age-related macular degeneration, as well as individuals with no chronic disease as studies may seek healthy control participants.

Contract Research

  • McLaughlin Research Institute (MRI) has been widely recognized for its significant contributions to biomedical research especially in the generation of preclinical animal models and mouse genetics since 1954. MRI’s Animal Resource Center currently has excess capacity over current faculty needs that is now available to help meet the demand for biomedical discovery and transgenic mouse services. As a small, independent, mouse-only facility, the Institute is able to offer specific pathogen-free, secure mouse space and genetic expertise at a reasonable cost.

  • Historically, pharmaceutical companies have sought out MRI as a collaborator to accelerate drug target discovery in a cost-efficient manner by taking advantage of our first-rate facility, equipment, and expertise. Past and current for-profit collaborators include EMD Serono, Amgen, Celltech, Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Oncology (f/k/a Millenium Pharmaceuticals). MRI continues to foster collaborations with pharma although names of companies cannot always be disclosed. MRI currently has multiple collaborations with for-profit companies and other non-profit organizations to test therapeutics in pre-clinical mouse trials. MRI also has collaborations with academic researchers at Stanford University, Phenome Health, Inc, Touro University, Western Washington University, the University of Washington, Rutgers University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Wake Forest University, the University of Montana, and Montana State University who have taken the opportunity to expand their research at an affordable cost by using McLaughlin’s Animal Resource Center.

    The user-friendly and service-oriented mouse facility at MRI features outstanding animal care and houses MRI’s transgenic facility for transgenic, reproductive, and cryopreservation technologies. Since 1996, our Animal Resource Center has been fully accredited by AAALAC International. The Institute’s skilled, AALAS-certified animal technicians adhere to rigorous animal health and genetic quality control practices. MRI enjoys the counsel of a strong Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). Current SAC members are: Irving L. Weissman, MD (Chair), Stanford University School of Medicine; Leroy E. Hood, MD, PhD, Institute for Systems Biology; Frances Lefcort, PhD, Montana State University; Frank Bennett, Ionis Pharmaceuticals and N-Lorem and David Anderson, PhD, CalTech.

    We also welcome traditional, investigator-initiated collaborations with MRI faculty: Deborah Cabin, mouse models for Parkinson’s disease and alpha-synuclein function; Teresa Gunn, mutations causing neurodegenerative disease; Tiffany Hensley-McBain; Mikael Klingeborn, role of exosomes in macular degeneration, protein misfolding, exosomal biomarkers, and therapeutics; Moses Leavens, protein biochemistry, biophysics, virology, and neurodegeneration; and Renee Reijo-Pera, Parkinson’s disease, human development and cell fate decisions.

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