Improving and Expanding the Behavioral Assessment Core Facility for Rodent Research

 描述（由申请人提供）：神经和心血管疾病（CVD）可以说是美国预防，诊断和治疗的最重要的疾病。世界卫生组织认为脑部疾病是全球疾病负担的主要贡献者。麻省理工学院麦戈文大脑研究所估计，美国大脑疾病的成本是癌症成本的两倍。了解人类思维和发现治疗、预防和治愈大脑疾病的新方法的重要性是国家的优先事项。多个联邦机构正在投资“大脑倡议”，以彻底改变大脑研究工作。对国家健康同样重要的是联邦对减少心血管疾病的重视。心脏病是美国男性和女性（非裔美国人、西班牙裔和白色人）的主要死因。在美国，每六美元的医疗保健支出中就有一美元用于心血管疾病（CVD）。每三个美国成年人中就有一个患有高血压。伯明翰的亚拉巴马大学致力于改善人类和动物的健康，因此积极支持使用动物模型预防和治疗这些疾病的研究。除了160，000美元的机构承诺外，我们还申请了498，840美元的联邦支持，用于将未使用的存储和手术空间转换为适合需要啮齿动物脑电图和CV遥测的研究的动物饲养空间。该空间将为约30名研究人员提供所需的资源，每年约2000万美元的积极资金和约900万美元的年度资金。我们建议在现有的动物设施中翻新和重新利用四个房间（约1067 nsf），该设施目前包含一个不起作用的，过时的，无法使用的荧光镜，最初设计用于人体导管插入术。物理布局将提供使用带有脑电图（EEG）或遥测设备的啮齿动物模型研究神经系统疾病和CVD的能力。升级包括重新配置2个大房间，以允许在单独的饲养室中同时收集小鼠和大鼠的数据，节能LED照明，更高效的HVAC组件和控制，更换损坏的HVAC冷却盘管，以及最先进的啮齿动物饲养设备（2个IVCS）。机构资金将用于购买和安装所需的EEG和CV遥测设备。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Neurological and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are arguably the most important diseases to prevent, diagnose and treat in the United States. The World Health Organization recognizes brain disorders as the leading contributor to global disease burden. The McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT estimates the cost of brain disorders in the US to be twice the cost of cancer. The importance of understanding the human mind and uncovering new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders are a national priority. Multiple federal agencies are investing in the "Brain Initiative" to revolutionize brain research efforts. Equally important to the nation's health, is the federal emphasis on reducing cardiovascular disease. Heart diseases are the leading cause of death of American men and women (African American, Hispanic and white). In the US, one out of every six dollars spent on healthcare is spent on cardiovascular disease (CVD). One out of every 3 US adults has hypertension. The University of Alabama at Birmingham is committed to improving human and animal health and thus enthusiastically supports research focused on preventing and curing these diseases using animal models. In addition to the institutional commitment of $160,000, we request $498,840 in federal support to convert unused storage and procedure space into animal housing space appropriate for research requiring rodent encephalography and CV telemetry. This space will provide needed resources for ~ 30 researchers with ~ $20M in annual active funding and ~$9M in pending annual funding. We propose to renovate and repurpose four rooms (~1067 nsf) within an existing animal facility that currently contains a nonfunctional, antiquated, unserviceable fluoroscope, and was originally designed for human catheterization procedures. The physical layout will provide capabilities for the study of neurological disorders and CVD using rodent models with either electroencephalogram (EEG) or telemetry equipment. Upgrades include reconfiguring 2 large rooms to allow data collection in both mice and rats simultaneously in separate housing rooms, energy saving LED lighting, more efficient HVAC components and controls, replacement of a damaged HVAC cooling coil, and state of the art rodent housing equipment (2 IVCS). The institutional funds will be used to purchase and install the needed EEG and CV telemetry equipment.