UW Oshkosh Animal Facility Improvement

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a resubmission of a 2006 AFIP proposal from a primarily undergraduate institution, UW Oshkosh, which has a growing research mission involving animals. UW Oshkosh's BioMicro animal facility is unchanged since its construction in 1967; yet in the 1990s, UW Oshkosh began to require scholarly research of its faculty. Last year, BioMicro faculty brought in $1.5million of extramural funds, including over $88thousand for animal research projects. The BioMicro animal facility also houses a unique national resource: a captive breeding colony of 13-lined ground squirrels, a key model for NIH-funded studies of hibernation and vision across the nation. Significant funding from the State of Wisconsin has been approved in response to NCRR's 2006 criticisms of our animal programs, and a new Campus Vet has been appointed who is already a full-time employee. However, our program needs for animal facility improvement have broadened since 2006, particularly in the area of environmental monitoring. Our 2007Specific Aims are: I. Installation of environmental monitors in all animals to an alarm system, II. Purchase of additional rodent cage/rack units, III. Replacement of a non-AAALAC-compliant cage washer, IV. Replacement of non-functioning movable equipment within a rodent surgical suite, and V. Renovation of an existing animal room for dedicated use as a ground squirrel hibernation chamber part of the year. Our broad objectives are to: better serve the research animal needs of existing and future faculty; qualify UW Oshkosh for AAALAC accreditation; and accommodate the growing national demand for our captive-bred ground squirrels.