Biosecurity Enhancements for the Rocky Mountain Regional Biocontainment Laborator

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal outlines a plan for capacity building at the Rocky Mountain Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RMRBL) at Colorado State University. The RMRBL is one component of the CSU Foothills Campus Infectious Disease Research Center (IDRC). By 2010, the IDRC will provide nearly 25,000 sq. ft of total animal space to serve the needs of over 30 current principal investigators and a dozen collaborative institutions. The IDRC supports research on select agents, emerging pathogens, arboviruses, and mycobacterial diseases at Animal Biosafety Levels 2 and 3, and as such, is a unique facility in the Rocky Mountain region, and nationally. We propose here to increase autoclave capacity at the RMRBL cagewash facility to optimize biosafety and biosecurity sterilization of animal caging and equipment. Installation of a large pass-through autoclave is proposed in an area adjacent to the RMRBL animal facility that will also allow emergency redundancy sterilization in the case of failure of the primary decontaminating autoclave. The size and footprint of the proposed equipment is modeled after a highly functional autoclave located in another cagewash facility on campus, allowing equipment redundancy and proof of concept for the proposed machinery. Funding is also requested for movable animal caging to provide high-level containment housing for species other than mice, and transport housing for animal movement between holding areas and manipulation space. Altogether this proposal will fully equip the IDRC, allowing for projected growth of animal use, and the capacity to efficiently and effectively process equipment needed for specialized research performed at the site.