The Knockout Mice Core was started in 1999, under the direction of Yuji Mishina, Ph.D. Officially the core began in 2002 with the addition of a core head, Manas Ray, Ph.D.
The purpose of the core is to produce targeted transgenic mice for investigators at NIEHS. It has attempted to produce several targeted transgenic lines to date, and has many more in progress. The results have been positive with numerous verified knockout mice produced.
This entire process may take up to two years, between the design and construction of the vector, to the final heterozygous mouse. Generally speaking, the better the design of the construct, and the more thoughtfully prepared the genotyping strategy, the faster the process can proceed.
Please look through the site as it will answer many of the questions you might have about generating your own special mouse.