GIVEN BUILDING ANIMAL FACILITY UPGRADE

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The University of Vermont (UVM) is requesting funds to upgrade the existing animal facility space located in the basement of the College of Medicine Given Building at the UVM Central Campus in Burlington, Vermont. A critical need has been identified to expand the capability of the existing facilities housing research animals. The production of genetically engineered mice is now occurring in semi-rigid isolators in a newly commissioned research building attached to the 40-year-old Given Building. The Given facility continues to contain a conventional animal colony holding facility; this capacity is required for growth of the research enterprise. In order to convert this conventional facility into a serviceable facility providing barrier at the cage level for rodents, it must be upgraded. In particular, this is required for the elimination of ongoing murine viral disease outbreaks in the research rodent holding operations. The requested funds will be used to purchase: a) upgraded mobile high density caging systems, b) filtered air bedding disposal systems, and c) laminar flow HEPA filtered air workbench hoods. Ten conventional holding rooms for mice will be converted cage level holding rooms for mice. This has the added advantage of doubling the capacity of each room as the proposed racks hold 140 cages while the existing open racks only hold a maximum of 70 cages per rack. Both the tunnel type cage washer and the rack washer have been replaced within the last five years and are not being used to capacity at this time. Expansion requires investment and the UVM administration is committed to continuing the support of this valuable research resource. Research supported by this centralized animal facility annually totals over $20,000,000. The results of previous studies using animals at UVM have been applied to many of the clinical medical and diagnostic techniques currently in use at the UVM affiliated Fletcher Allen Health Care and in other major medical treatment facilities around the world.