- http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2012/funding-fears-prevent-researchers-from-sharing-their-mice
- http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2012/nonprofit-rallies-funds-to-create-autism-related-mouse-model
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
January 9, 2012 Funding fears prevent researches from sharing their mice August 9, 2012 Nonprofit rallies funds to create autism-related mouse model
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Despite funders’ requirements to share mouse models after publication, many researchers hoard the animals for the good of their labs — and that could have an adverse effect on the autism field as a whole. Concerned by researchers’ lack of access to a valuable mouse model of autism, a nonprofit advocacy group is dedicating a chunk of its limited resources to the creation of a freely available version of the mouse.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Both of these pieces were somewhat unusual in that they didn’t originate from any particular study or document, but rather from information that sources had been mentioning to me, off the cuff, for months. In the course of my reporting on the ‘Funding fears’ piece, I dug up the sharing policies of various scientific journals and funding agencies, which are provided in a table at the end of the piece.
Explain types of human sources used.
In the first piece, “Funding fears…,” my sources were: scientists who make transgenic mouse models and share them, scientists who make models and don’t share them, representatives from the NIH to discuss their sharing policy, and representatives from Jackson Labs, which provides a repository for sharing mice. In the second piece, “Nonprofit rallies…,” my sources were: a representative from a nonprofit that is making its own mouse because a scientist wouldn’t share; that scientist; researchers who are making the new mouse; and other researchers who knew about the situation but were not involved.
Results:
N/A
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
In the second story, ‘Nonprofit rallies…,’ I quoted the researcher, Matthew Anderson, who chose not to share his mice. He talked to me about all of the reasons — logistical and competitive — why sharing is difficult, and I included much of this in the piece. He was quite upset when the piece was published, and left a comment below the piece claiming that his quotes were taken out of context. He never elaborated on exactly how, however, and to my knowledge there is nothing inaccurate about the piece. No correction or clarification was run.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Always be reporting. I first heard about the sharing story when chatting with one of the frustrated scientists, Larry Reiter, at a cocktail party during a scientific conference. We were talking about something somewhat related, and he started opening up about how difficult it’s been to get access to some mouse models. Then I gradually started asking other researchers about it, often at the end of a phone interview about something totally different. The reporting developed over many months, before I knew it was a real story.