Collections > Accessions and Loan Policies > Genetic Materials Grant Policy
General Philosophy
The UMMZ Bird Division maintains a modest collection of frozen tissues, most of which are associated with vouchers in the specimen collection. We wish to make these available to qualified scientists doing legitimate research. Tissue samples are expensive to collect and maintain, and are depleted with use. Thus, we have developed the following guidelines to help us meet our goals of serving the research community and preserving the value of our collection for current and future research.
Researchers may occasionally request samples of feathers, toe pads, or bone from traditional specimens for DNA analysis. However, the researcher must provide compelling reasons why the project cannot be completed without destructive sampling of UMMZ specimens, and convincing evidence for success of the proposed molecular protocols for 'ancient' DNA extraction. We do not provide samples for isotope studies. Please see this accompanying article (PDF Download 44Kb) for explanation of this policy. Requests for destructive sampling of skin or skeletal material will be evaluated more stringently than other requests.
Requests for Materials
Informal inquiries about tissue holdings can be made to the UMMZ Bird Division curators or collection manager via email. Students are welcome to make these informal preliminary inquiries. Our skin and skeleton specimen database can be searched via the web at <http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/birds/holdings.html>. Informal inquiries should be followed by a formal written grant request by the professor for genetic materials containing the following elements:
1) A brief summary of the research in which the following issues are addressed: (a) objectives of the project and its potential scientific value; (b) feasibility and time frame of the study; (c) availability of material from wild populations or captive sources; (d) methods of analysis; (e) qualifications of the investigator(s) to perform the laboratory work; (f) availability of funding to complete the project; (g) other sources of material to be used; and (h) why samples are needed from the UMMZ Bird Division collection.
2) Information on type of material needed, approximate amount of material desired, conditions and method of transport, and a Federal Express or UPS recharge number if the material is to be shipped on dry ice. Materials from the frozen tissue collection will be sent in ethanol at ambient temperature except in unusual cases.
Requests must be accompanied by copies of all requisite permits. material;
c) amount of material in the UMMZ Bird Division collections;
d) rarity and replaceability of the samples;
e) demonstrated ability of the investigator to perform the work and complete the project; and
f) financial support for the project.
Conditions of Agreement
Acceptance of genetic materials entails agreement that: (a) genetic materials granted to the recipient cannot be transferred to a third party without express written permission, (b) any unused genetic materials must be returned to the UMMZ Bird Division upon completion of the study, (c) any resulting molecular sequences be deposited ultimately in a public database such as GenBank, (d) relevant UMMZ Bird Division voucher specimen catalog numbers, tissue collection numbers and an acknowledgement of UMMZ be included in publications, and (e) two reprints be sent to our collections manager.
We do not require reciprocity in the form of contributing materials to the UMMZ Bird Division in trade following a grant, however, such contributions of materials are welcomed and encouraged. If you collect specimens as part of your research and cannot or do not wish to maintain or care for them in the long term, please consider depositing them at the UMMZ Bird Division.
We have USDA Veterinary Permits for Importation and Transportation of Controlled Materials and Organisms and Vectors for bird tissue samples. Institutions receiving samples from us should send a copy of their USDA permit for transportation.