Improving and Expanding the Behavioral Assessment Core Facility for Rodent Research



 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.