The mouse occupies a pivotal position amongst model organisms used in bio-medical research. The mouse genetics toolkit, including the generation of targeted spatio-temporally-controlled somatic mutations, allows us to introduce a range of informative mutations in almost any gene. Its potential, when coupled to appropriate phenotyping platforms, to dissect the role of each gene in (patho)physiological and biochemical pathways, making it an unparalleled vehicle for functional genomics studies. Due to its small size, fast generation time, and the strong developmental, physiological and biochemical similarities between mouse and man, the mouse has now become also a valuable model for pharmacology and toxicology. In fact, the same phenotyping platforms can also be used to test the efficacy and determine the side-effects of drug treatments.

One of the main missions of the ICS is to provide a comprehensive array of services for the "mouse" scientific community (see under Services). These activities span from the generation of new mouse models to phenotyping platforms. In addition, the ICS has an in house research and developmental program (see under Research).

The MCI is organized as an integrated technology laboratory with 5 highly interactive service platforms, some of which are jointly operated with the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC). The MCI is housed in a facility of ± 6000 m2 with a capacity to house up to 70,000 mice and employs 93 persons devoted to the generation, care, and analysis of mouse models. Each platform is managed by a specialist in the respective field, who is assisted by outside consultants from the IGBMC and the Strasbourg Genopole. Importantly, all phenotyping activities are carefully validated in several different mice strains and the procedures are standardized in close collaboration with the EU-funded mouse phenotyping projects.