University of South Florida Application to Improve the SRB Mouse Barrier Facility

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): University of South Florida Application to Improve the SRB Mouse Barrier Facility Support is requested for equipment critically needed to maintain a sustainable operation in support of federally-sponsored studies requiring ABSL-2 containment, and the isolation of immunocompromised strains in the 29,890 nsf mouse barrier facility of the Stabile Research Building (SRB) at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. Additional racks of individually ventilated caging (IVC) for mice are needed for fundamentally new research capabilities, including a repository of xenografts in immunocompromised mice that will serve as in vivo platforms for translational drug discoveries monitored with modern imaging modalities and correlated with the patient's own tumor and treatment outcomes that will improve personalized patient care. Approximately 70% of medical faculty require services for mice, inventories of which have grown 2101% program-wide in the last 15 years and 40% within the SRB facility in the last 3 years alone. The requested equipment will assist with meeting this trajectory of growth, augment isolation and containment capabilities, contribute to a secure microbiological barrier, a sustainable operation with reduced labor and total costs, water usage, detergent effluent, and carbon footprint, and increase housing efficiency by 80% in limited facility space. The SRB mouse barrier facility provides space for functional genomic services, including the Mouse Models Core and the Small Animal Imaging Laboratory in a setting of stringent microbiological security adjacent to Tampa Bay's greatest focus of federally funded research and laboratory space. Support is requested to purchase seventeen or 13% of the IVC mouse microisolator racks needed within the SRB facility, nine associated air handlers, and additional cage setups. The Tecniplast IVC units are ideal for both mouse isolation and ABSL-2 containment and the industry leader in sustainable design. The net benefit of this equipment will accrue to nationally recognized life science research.