Shared Ageing Research Models (ShARM)
ShARM aims to accelerate research into ageing by enabling the sharing of tissue and information from aged mice and encouraging collaboration in the aged research community.
Shared Ageing Research Models (ShARM) is a not-for-profit organisation, funded by the Wellcome Trust and open to all scientific investigators in the UK and overseas. It provides rapid and cost-effective access to tissues from aged murine models by means of a biorepository stocked with over 17,000 flash frozen and formalin-fixed tissues.
ShARM also maintains a database of live ageing colonies which allows for the collection of bespoke samples not already stored in the biorepository. These activities ensure maximum research capacity is attained for all existing aged mouse models, thereby reducing waste and upholding the principles of refining, reducing and replacing the use of animals in research.
ShARM promotes the networking of researchers and dissemination of knowledge on ageing research and aged animal welfare through its online collaborative environment, MICEspace.
ShARM has supplied approximately 200 tissues to investigators who have used tissues in publications such as in * and to generate preliminary data for grant applications.