ANIMAL RESOURCES IMPROVEMENT

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Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) is a private, non-profit organization where basic and clinical biomedical research is conducted in a variety of disciplines such as hematology, biochemistry, immunology, genetics, cancer, pulmonary development and cell biology. The CHORI Animal Resource Facility (ARF) houses and maintains conventional mice and rats and occasionally rabbits, for use as experimental animals. In addition, a colony of immunologically compromised mutant scid/scid mice was recently established. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) has identified several major deficiencies in the ARF which include: lack of separate areas for processing clean and dirty cages, bottles, etc., lack of separation between "clean" and "dirty" traffic flows, inadequate material storage and segregation, lack of air pressure control to individual animal rooms and inability to control air temperature in individual cubicles, and inadequate electrical systems such as absence of emergency electrical system (also controls HVAC) and invariant light intensity in animal rooms. Also, a separate procedures room is not currently available for performing experimental manipulations of animals. The objective of this proposal is to correct these deficiencies so as to provide environmental conditions which promote animal heath and well-being, ensure efficient animal management procedures, and provide facilities conducive to animal experimentation. An additional goal is to upgrade the ARF sufficiently to comply with NIH guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals and to obtain AAALAC certification. To realize these objectives, a project is described to modify the ARF physical plant by: 1) renovating an existing cage/bottle processing area such that separate utility areas are created for the handling and cleaning of cages, bottles, etc. 2) improving the quality of cage and bottle sanitizing procedures by installing a cage/bottle washer and autoclave, 3) improving the environmental control systems which entails installation of a separate HVAC system for the animal quarters, installation of variable temperature and light intensity systems and provision of an emergency power back up system and 4) renovating an existing laboratory to provide a separate animal procedures room contiguous with the ARF. These modifications to the CHORI ARF will promote good animal husbandry practices and thus improve animal health and facilities management.