INSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL RESOURCE FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS

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This application requests matching funds to assist St. Louis University in improving its animal care and use facilities. The University has delegated to the Department of Comparative Medicine the critical role of providing comprehensive support for all research and teaching projects involving animals. The highest priority is to insure that all animals are healthy, and properly and humanely housed and cared for. St. Louis University has committed substantial resources to upgrading its program of animal care over the years and has achieved and retained AAALAC accreditation. However, the rapidly changing technologic and regulatory climate demands that the University continue to make substantial improvements in the facilities and care programs. The renovations and caging requested will enable Comparative Medicine to meet the needs of laboratory animals and investigators for the next several years. A new surgical and imaging suite and equipment will serve the research needs of the faculty in Surgery and the Internal Medicine divisions of Cardiology and Pulmonology, as well as others requiring surgical and imaging resources. The new transgenic mouse facility will allow faculty to commence research in this important area with quality animals. Containment housing will protect rodents on long-term projects from random, inadvertent infections. Large animal pens will allow us to accommodate those species in appropriate housing and on a timely basis. A new sanitation system in the large animal pens and the new cage wash room floor will improve our overall sanitation program. All of the renovations and equipment will complement the existing facilities and equipment and the professional and technical staff in a manner designed to provide a program of exemplary animal care and use for the faculty of St. Louis University.