At November 3rd 2020, Dr. Yuichi Obata, Senior Adviser of RIKEN BioResource Center, received the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) Award of Excellence for 2020 for the instrumental in the RIKEN BRC joining the IMPC and importantly bringing the IMPC to Asia and fostering IMPC activities both in Asia and further afield. The award was announced in the Annual Fall Meeting 2020 of the Knockout Mouse Phenotyping Project (KOMP2) & IMPC, which was held in Bethesda, USA (online).

IMPC Awards of Excellence recognize outstanding contributions from scientists in the IMPC consortium that exemplify exceptional service to the IMPC program.
This year, 5 individuals from 3 continents were received the award.
IMPC was established in September 2011 expanding international collaborative networks in phenotyping knockout mice, with the goal to publish an Encyclopedia of the Mammalian Genome Function. RIKEN BRC has committed to this effort, hosting symposiums two times. Outcomes of these collaborative activities will greatly contribute to enabling to delineate biological function of every gene in the mammalian genome, a better understanding of pathogenesis of diseases, drug discovery and development as well as prediction of potential side-effects early in the drug discovery process, and moreover, deeper insights into sophisticated biological functions. As of March 2020, 25 institutions in 14 countries and regions are involved in the IMPC.