Improvements to the Regional Biocontainment Research Facilities at the University of Missouri

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The objective of the parent G20 grant is to provide state of the art, highly safe and secure biocontainment facilities and services to faculty, student and staff researchers at the MU Laboratory for Infectious Diseases, one of 12 NIH/NIAID Regional Biocontainment Laboratories. The LIDR/MURBL is currently host to more than 60 researchers. Our research community is successful in grant funding with 14 Principal Investigators currently active in federally and privately funded grants/contracts. The current ABSL3 facility supports aerosol challenge of rodents, but larger animal challenges cannot occur due to a lack of appropriate containment housing. The goal of this G20 supplement project is to expand the capabilities of the MURBL to serve the biodefense and emerging infectious disease research for the region. Towards this objective, we propose to renovate the east suite of the ABSL3, including the installation of a specialized ante room and effluent decontamination system, to allow for the housing of large animals in biocontainment. These upgrades would serve the immediate needs of MU faculty of the RBL who are conducting translational research on SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, and hepatitis B virus. Aim 1: Add open caging capabilities to the ABSL3 at LIDR for housing swine and other large animals following challenge with respiratory viruses that are pathogenic to humans. We propose to build open caging capacity in the ABSL3 at LIDR for housing up to 10 pigs or other large animals that have been experimentally infected with various human pathogens. The request includes funds for remodeling in the anteroom as well as the animal holding room/building effluent system to permit effluent decontamination, and necessary HVAC upgrades. Aim 2: Purchase and install equipment for whole animal imaging following infection. We propose to add capabilities for whole animal imaging, which will allow for reduction of research animals used at LIDR.