Enhancing Animal Care in a New High-Throughput Rodent Behavior Analysis Core Facility

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Rapid advances in human genetics and in genome editing are creating unprecedented scientific opportunities to develop animal models of different human diseases. These opportunities, however, are already severely straining the animal facilities at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). This application reflects the deep commitment of the CUMC to improving the quality of animal care and welfare necessary to meet or exceed PHS Policy on the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Because of the expected concentration of efforts in neurological disorders, this project, which focuses on neurobiology of disease research and its translation to advance human health, will upgrade and equip a 1,365 square foot area within the existing CUMC animal facility as part of an effort to establish a high-throughput rodent behavior analysis core. This improved facility will be comprised of barrier-space for dedicated rodent housing, animal preparation for and performance of live animal surgery and viral vector injections, and behavioral testing. Specifically, the proposal seeks Federal funds for the purchase of three single and four double HEPA-filtered ventilated cage racks, four HEPA-filtered ventilated changing and transfer stations, and one biosafety cabinet. Associated construction costs related to the installation and connection of the ventilated racks and the biosafety cabinet will also be sought. The facility we establish here will allow CUMC investigators to seize the opportunities created by advances in genetics and genome engineering, while still providing for the very highest standards of animal care and welfare and human safety. In keeping with this, the requested equipment will allow us to fulfill three Specific Aims: (1) to maximize the dedicated rodent housing capacity; (2) to minimize the effects of environmental changes on animal behaviors and to minimize the risk of harmful human exposure to rodent allergens and breaks in colony biosecurity during cage changes and experimental manipulation of animals; and, (3) to allow the sterile performance of survival surgery and safe injection of viral vectors into animals to achieve optimal quality research. This proposal represents CUMC's critical and substantial effort to meet the present and anticipated needs of its neurobiology of disease community by providing a new and fully-functional barrier behavioral testing facility for rodents (primarily mice). Recognizing the importance of this effort the Dean's office, the Columbia Translational Neuroscience Initiative, and the Institute of Genomic Medicine have come together to collectively provide all of the necessary support to create the facility described above beyond the resource that this grant would provide. This institutional commitment will include: (1) integrating the costs of renovation/construction of the new facility into the ongoing capital project of CUMC's Institute of Comparative Medicine aimed at upgrading its animal care facilities and (2) covering the purchase of all of the behavior testin apparatii.