Replacement of Pass Through Autoclave Sterilizer Within A High Health Status Barrier Vivarium- Building M3 UC Davis

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The M3 Targeted Genomics Facility Vivarium Housing unit is the only high health status barrier rodent housing facility on the University of California Davis (UC Davis) Campus and is in dire need of replacement of the facility dedicated bulk pass-through autoclave sterilizer. The biosecurity of the M3 barrier vivarium is dependent on the operational function of this critical piece of equipment which is over 40 years old and has been assessed and demonstrated to have irreparable damage which will lead to eminent equipment failure and subsequent facility operational failure jeopardizing the animal health and welfare of those animals housed within. The M3 facility supports 38 UC Davis investigators with active grant and internal campus support totaling approximately $10.5 million. All supplies, caging, bedding, feed, and bottles are autoclaved into the facility to ensure the strict health status of the genetically modified animals and immune compromised rodent colonies housed in the M3 barrier vivarium. The M3 barrier vivarium serves as the High health "vendor status barrier" for shipping associated with several large NIH funded grant repository projects (Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center, Knockout Mouse Project Repository, and the Bariatric Surgical Model Distribution for the Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center). The M3 barrier housing facility also houses the campus colony which supplies all rodent sentinel animals for the UC Davis Campus Rodent Health Monitoring Program. Thus, the impact of the operations of the M3 barrier facility reach beyond the animals housed within the facility and affect all mouse related research across the UC Davis campus. The current autoclave is over 40 year old and has been used past its life expectancy. Damage from several years of inadequate steam supply due to lack of infrastructure development have led to cracks in the jacket of the autoclave which can't be repaired. Funds are being requested for replacement of the bulk pass through autoclave sterilizer as well as additional dedicated electric boiler support for the new equipment to prevent excessive wear and tear from inadequate central steam infrastructure. The new autoclave will be more energy efficient, water saving, and improve operational efficiency in order to support the growing use of the M3 Targeted Genomics Vivarium Facility. This will ensure the biosecurity, welfare, and health of current and future rodent projects reliant on the health status that this vivarium housing facility provides.