A quality framework for cryopreserved rodent disease models: INFRAFRONTIER quality principles in EMMA archiving and distribution

Hilke Ehlich; Andrew Blease; Reva Biju; Montse Gustems; Fei Song; Sabine Fessele; Marzia Massimi; Konstantinos Bozonelos; Vasileios Ntafis; Anniina E. Hiltunen; Susan Marschall; Claudia Stoeger; Zuzana Khorshidi; Abdelmalek Ziadi; Karine Jambou; Arsenio Armagno; Ferdinando Scavizzi; Marcello Raspa; Julia Fernandez; María Jesús del Hierro; Abdelkader Ayadi; Joelle Pensavalle; Géraldine Prevost; Lucie Dufková; Michaela Krupkova; Petr Nickl; Paul Krimpenfort; Marieke van de Ven; Jos Jonkers; Gema Valera Vázquez; Michael Raess; Johannes Beckers; Anna Moles; Maik Dahlhoff; Lluis Montoliu; Yann Hérault; Reetta Hinttala; Dimitris L. Kontoyiannis; Radislav Sedlacek; Martin Hrabě de Angelis; Auke A. Boersma; Rafaele Matteoni

doi:10.1007/s00335-025-10174-4

A quality framework for cryopreserved rodent disease models: INFRAFRONTIER quality principles in EMMA archiving and distribution

Hilke Ehlich
, Andrew Blease
, Reva Biju
, Montse Gustems
, Fei Song
, Sabine Fessele
, Marzia Massimi
, Konstantinos Bozonelos
, Vasileios Ntafis
, Anniina E. Hiltunen
, Susan Marschall
, Claudia Stoeger
, Zuzana Khorshidi
, Abdelmalek Ziadi
, Karine Jambou
, Arsenio Armagno
, Ferdinando Scavizzi
, Marcello Raspa
, Julia Fernandez
, María Jesús del Hierro

Abdelkader Ayadi, Joelle Pensavalle, Géraldine Prevost, Lucie Dufková, Michaela Krupkova, Petr Nickl, Paul Krimpenfort, Marieke van de Ven, Jos Jonkers, Gema Valera Vázquez, Michael Raess, Johannes Beckers, Anna Moles, Maik Dahlhoff, Lluis Montoliu, Yann Hérault, Reetta Hinttala, Dimitris L. Kontoyiannis, Radislav Sedlacek, Martin Hrabě de Angelis, Auke A. Boersma, Rafaele Matteoni

Life Sciences

INFRAFRONTIER ERIC
Medical Research Council Mammalian Genetics Unit
IMM-CNR
Alexander Fleming Biomedical Sciences Research Center
University of Oulu
Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology (BIOP)
Karolinska Institutet
Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Aix-Marseille University
Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC)
CIBER de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER)
Universite de Strasbourg
Academy of Sciences of the Czech
The Netherlands Cancer Institute
German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD)
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
Technical University of Munich

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

Ensuring the quality and reproducibility of biological resources is essential for advancing biomedical research and upholding animal welfare standards. The European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA), part of the INFRAFRONTIER research infrastructure, plays a key role in this effort by cryopreserving scientifically validated mutant mouse and rat strains and making them accessible to the global scientific community. To further enhance its processes and promote transparency, INFRAFRONTIER/EMMA has developed a set of ten Quality Principles specifically tailored to the unique requirements of cryopreserved rodent mutant strains. These principles guide EMMA’s workflows by providing a structured yet flexible quality framework across its distributed nodes. They encompass both general standards—such as adherence to the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine), staff competence, and continuous improvement—and more specific areas including scientific evaluation, data curation, and intellectual property rights. Each principle is presented with contextual background, defined requirements, practical recommendations, and key references. This initiative aims to strengthen the reliability, ethical integrity, and reproducibility of preclinical research resources.

Original language	English
Article number	10
Journal	Mammalian Genome
Volume	37
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00335-025-10174-4
State	Published - Dec 2026

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Ehlich, H., Blease, A., Biju, R., Gustems, M., Song, F., Fessele, S., Massimi, M., Bozonelos, K., Ntafis, V., Hiltunen, A. E., Marschall, S., Stoeger, C., Khorshidi, Z., Ziadi, A., Jambou, K., Armagno, A., Scavizzi, F., Raspa, M., Fernandez, J., ... Matteoni, R. (2026). A quality framework for cryopreserved rodent disease models: INFRAFRONTIER quality principles in EMMA archiving and distribution. Mammalian Genome, 37(1), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00335-025-10174-4

@article{b1b4e7d607e7411da40d10f67e05f4e8,

title = "A quality framework for cryopreserved rodent disease models: INFRAFRONTIER quality principles in EMMA archiving and distribution",

abstract = "Ensuring the quality and reproducibility of biological resources is essential for advancing biomedical research and upholding animal welfare standards. The European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA), part of the INFRAFRONTIER research infrastructure, plays a key role in this effort by cryopreserving scientifically validated mutant mouse and rat strains and making them accessible to the global scientific community. To further enhance its processes and promote transparency, INFRAFRONTIER/EMMA has developed a set of ten Quality Principles specifically tailored to the unique requirements of cryopreserved rodent mutant strains. These principles guide EMMA{\textquoteright}s workflows by providing a structured yet flexible quality framework across its distributed nodes. They encompass both general standards—such as adherence to the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine), staff competence, and continuous improvement—and more specific areas including scientific evaluation, data curation, and intellectual property rights. Each principle is presented with contextual background, defined requirements, practical recommendations, and key references. This initiative aims to strengthen the reliability, ethical integrity, and reproducibility of preclinical research resources.",

author = "Hilke Ehlich and Andrew Blease and Reva Biju and Montse Gustems and Fei Song and Sabine Fessele and Marzia Massimi and Konstantinos Bozonelos and Vasileios Ntafis and Hiltunen, \{Anniina E.\} and Susan Marschall and Claudia Stoeger and Zuzana Khorshidi and Abdelmalek Ziadi and Karine Jambou and Arsenio Armagno and Ferdinando Scavizzi and Marcello Raspa and Julia Fernandez and \{del Hierro\}, \{Mar{\'i}a Jes{\'u}s\} and Abdelkader Ayadi and Joelle Pensavalle and G{\'e}raldine Prevost and Lucie Dufkov{\'a} and Michaela Krupkova and Petr Nickl and Paul Krimpenfort and \{van de Ven\}, Marieke and Jos Jonkers and \{Valera V{\'a}zquez\}, Gema and Michael Raess and Johannes Beckers and Anna Moles and Maik Dahlhoff and Lluis Montoliu and Yann H{\'e}rault and Reetta Hinttala and Kontoyiannis, \{Dimitris L.\} and Radislav Sedlacek and \{Hrab{\v e} de Angelis\}, Martin and Boersma, \{Auke A.\} and Rafaele Matteoni",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

year = "2026",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1007/s00335-025-10174-4",

language = "English",

volume = "37",

journal = "Mammalian Genome",

issn = "0938-8990",

publisher = "Springer",

number = "1",

}

Ehlich, H, Blease, A, Biju, R, Gustems, M, Song, F, Fessele, S, Massimi, M, Bozonelos, K, Ntafis, V, Hiltunen, AE, Marschall, S, Stoeger, C, Khorshidi, Z, Ziadi, A, Jambou, K, Armagno, A, Scavizzi, F, Raspa, M, Fernandez, J, del Hierro, MJ, Ayadi, A, Pensavalle, J, Prevost, G, Dufková, L, Krupkova, M, Nickl, P, Krimpenfort, P, van de Ven, M, Jonkers, J, Valera Vázquez, G, Raess, M, Beckers, J, Moles, A, Dahlhoff, M, Montoliu, L, Hérault, Y, Hinttala, R, Kontoyiannis, DL, Sedlacek, R, Hrabě de Angelis, M, Boersma, AA & Matteoni, R 2026, 'A quality framework for cryopreserved rodent disease models: INFRAFRONTIER quality principles in EMMA archiving and distribution', Mammalian Genome, vol. 37, no. 1, 10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00335-025-10174-4

TY - JOUR

T1 - A quality framework for cryopreserved rodent disease models

T2 - INFRAFRONTIER quality principles in EMMA archiving and distribution

AU - Ehlich, Hilke

AU - Blease, Andrew

AU - Biju, Reva

AU - Gustems, Montse

AU - Song, Fei

AU - Fessele, Sabine

AU - Massimi, Marzia

AU - Bozonelos, Konstantinos

AU - Ntafis, Vasileios

AU - Hiltunen, Anniina E.

AU - Marschall, Susan

AU - Stoeger, Claudia

AU - Khorshidi, Zuzana

AU - Ziadi, Abdelmalek

AU - Jambou, Karine

AU - Armagno, Arsenio

AU - Scavizzi, Ferdinando

AU - Raspa, Marcello

AU - Fernandez, Julia

AU - del Hierro, María Jesús

AU - Ayadi, Abdelkader

AU - Pensavalle, Joelle

AU - Prevost, Géraldine

AU - Dufková, Lucie

AU - Krupkova, Michaela

AU - Nickl, Petr

AU - Krimpenfort, Paul

AU - van de Ven, Marieke

AU - Jonkers, Jos

AU - Valera Vázquez, Gema

AU - Raess, Michael

AU - Beckers, Johannes

AU - Moles, Anna

AU - Dahlhoff, Maik

AU - Montoliu, Lluis

AU - Hérault, Yann

AU - Hinttala, Reetta

AU - Kontoyiannis, Dimitris L.

AU - Sedlacek, Radislav

AU - Hrabě de Angelis, Martin

AU - Boersma, Auke A.

AU - Matteoni, Rafaele

PY - 2026/12

Y1 - 2026/12

N2 - Ensuring the quality and reproducibility of biological resources is essential for advancing biomedical research and upholding animal welfare standards. The European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA), part of the INFRAFRONTIER research infrastructure, plays a key role in this effort by cryopreserving scientifically validated mutant mouse and rat strains and making them accessible to the global scientific community. To further enhance its processes and promote transparency, INFRAFRONTIER/EMMA has developed a set of ten Quality Principles specifically tailored to the unique requirements of cryopreserved rodent mutant strains. These principles guide EMMA’s workflows by providing a structured yet flexible quality framework across its distributed nodes. They encompass both general standards—such as adherence to the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine), staff competence, and continuous improvement—and more specific areas including scientific evaluation, data curation, and intellectual property rights. Each principle is presented with contextual background, defined requirements, practical recommendations, and key references. This initiative aims to strengthen the reliability, ethical integrity, and reproducibility of preclinical research resources.

AB - Ensuring the quality and reproducibility of biological resources is essential for advancing biomedical research and upholding animal welfare standards. The European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA), part of the INFRAFRONTIER research infrastructure, plays a key role in this effort by cryopreserving scientifically validated mutant mouse and rat strains and making them accessible to the global scientific community. To further enhance its processes and promote transparency, INFRAFRONTIER/EMMA has developed a set of ten Quality Principles specifically tailored to the unique requirements of cryopreserved rodent mutant strains. These principles guide EMMA’s workflows by providing a structured yet flexible quality framework across its distributed nodes. They encompass both general standards—such as adherence to the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine), staff competence, and continuous improvement—and more specific areas including scientific evaluation, data curation, and intellectual property rights. Each principle is presented with contextual background, defined requirements, practical recommendations, and key references. This initiative aims to strengthen the reliability, ethical integrity, and reproducibility of preclinical research resources.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105024386278

U2 - 10.1007/s00335-025-10174-4

DO - 10.1007/s00335-025-10174-4

M3 - Review article

C2 - 41369732

AN - SCOPUS:105024386278

SN - 0938-8990

VL - 37

JO - Mammalian Genome

JF - Mammalian Genome

IS - 1

M1 - 10

ER -

A quality framework for cryopreserved rodent disease models: INFRAFRONTIER quality principles in EMMA archiving and distribution

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