IMPROVING INSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL FACILITIES

密歇根大学人类遗传学系在人类遗传疾病动物模型的开发和表征方面一直很强大。 在过去的十年里，在该部门和整个研究界使用小鼠的研究人员数量急剧增加。 新技术从根本上改变了识别经典小鼠突变体的速度，并彻底改变了小鼠在功能基因组学中的应用。 使用转基因和胚胎干细胞技术生产“设计小鼠”的可能性仅受到研究人员想象力的限制。 为了满足对小鼠设施日益增长的需求，我们最近完成了一项翻新工程，使我们的人类遗传学小鼠住房空间现代化并增加了一倍以上。 为了保持高质量的护理和促进生物医学研究，我们提出了两项改进，以装备我们新装修的小鼠动物资源。1. 通过购买层流罩更换笼子，将传统小鼠群升级为无特定病原体的设施。2. 在可行的情况下，通过实施自动化来降低动物研究的费用。 例如，维持小鼠最昂贵的方面是更换笼子的劳动力成本。 这可以通过自动垫料分配器和安装提供自动浇水和空气过滤的单元来减少，从而减少必须更换笼子的频率。这些改进将使动物项目受益，每年直接费用超过330万美元（包括NIH的290多万美元支持），并将增加大学已经为改造人类遗传学动物空间所做的实质性改进，该空间耗资约100万美元。

The Department of Human Genetics at the University of Michigan has historically been strong in the development and characterization of animal models of human genetic disease. Over the past ten years the number of researchers using mice in the department and the entire research community has increased dramatically. New technologies have radically changed the pace with which classic mouse mutants can be identified and revolutionized the use of the mouse for functional genomics. The possibilities for producing "designer mice" using transgenic and embryonic stem cells technologies are limited only by the imagination of the investigator. To meet the growing need for mouse facilities we have recently completed a renovation that modernizes and more than doubles our Human Genetics mouse housing space. To maintain high quality care and promote biomedical research we propose two improvements in outfitting our newly renovated mouse animal resource. 1. Upgrade from a conventional mouse colony to specific pathogen free facilities by purchasing laminar flow hoods for cage changing. 2. Reduce the expense of animal research by implementing automation where feasible. For example, the most expensive aspect of maintaining mice is the labor costs for cage changing. This can be reduced with automated bedding dispensers and by installing units that provide automatic watering and air filtration, reducing the frequency with which cages must be changed. These improvements will benefit animal projects totaling over $3.3 million annual direct costs (including over $2.9 million in support from NIH) and will add to the substantial improvements the University already has made to renovate the Human Genetics animal space, which cost approximately $1 million.