Mouse Model Study Shows Differences In Environment

A study addressing how location and sex can affect mouse models in scientific research authored by Pearce appears in July's issue of Scientific Reports. "Location and sex-specific differences in weight and motor coordination in two commonly used mouse strains" focuses on the migration of Pearce's mouse colony from the University of Rochester (NY) to Sioux Falls after his move to Sanford Research in 2009. Dr. David Pearce, vice president and chief operating officer for Sanford Research, found the shift in environment caused changes in the weight, motor coordination and motor learning capability of mice. Pearce's study reveals why scientists performing the same mouse-model research in two different labs may experience different outcomes. Pearce is one of the world's top researchers of Batten disease and leads the Pearce Lab for Genetically Inherited Diseases of Children at Sanford Research.