Facility renovation to expand mouse barrier space

描述(由申请人提供)： 该应用程序的具体目标是翻新现有的动物外科手术、支持和传统动物收容所区域，以创建啮齿动物屏障设施。拟议的翻修是可能的，因为一个新的增建(完工日期：2004年12月)将取代我们现有动物设施中的那些功能区。翻修工程将提供3555平方英尺的净可分配栅栏设施。该设施将提供足够的居住空间，以适当地容纳快速增长的小鼠数量，这些小鼠支持由NIH资助的南伊利诺伊大学医学院在癌症、老年病学、神经科学、免疫学和传染病领域的研究计划。工作范围包括安装散装直通式高压灭菌器、建造联锁、重新安置员工更衣室，以及拆除墙壁以优化房间大小以最大限度地容纳能力。 SIUSM动物设施和动物护理计划目前没有来自USDA检查员、AAALAC、IACUC设施审查报告或PHS动物福利保证声明的未解决或未解决的缺陷。目前应用程序的主要目的是使我们能够适当地适应我们迅速增长的啮齿动物数量，从而继续实现这一堪称典范的业绩记录。目前我们计划最迫切的需要是扩大小鼠的屏障住房空间，以适应我们教员越来越多地使用人类疾病的基因工程、自发和年龄相关的小鼠模型。1989年对DLAM设施的扩建包括一个主要用于安全壳的动物收容所。这一区域的一部分现在被用作容纳免疫功能不全的小鼠的屏障区域。然而，我们的设施现在也保留了大量的老年小鼠，由于空间限制，无法在屏障中容纳。因此，我们有限的屏障空间严重影响了我们以最佳方式容纳足够数量的免疫功能不全和衰老小鼠的能力，以支持我们由NIH资助的研究计划，并适当地保护遗传独特、衰老(通常超过两岁)或用于癌症和免疫功能研究的小鼠的健康状况。越来越多的调查人员现在要求从非供应商来源采购MICE。由于隔离隔离区毗邻屏障套房，这种情况对居住在现有屏障殖民地中的站立种群构成了重大风险。将这两类活动分开显然是审慎和可取的。此外，我们目前只有四个隔间可以用于隔离和遏制。这一空间将不足以支持我们在传染病和有毒挑战领域的预期持续增长，以及对非供应商啮齿动物的检疫需求。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The specific aim of this application is to renovate existing animal surgery, support, and conventional animal housing areas to create a rodent barrier facility. The proposed renovation is possible because a new addition (completion date: December, 2004) will replace those functional areas in our existing animal facility. The renovation will provide a 3,555 net assignable square feet barrier facility. This facility will provide sufficient housing space to properly accommodate the rapidly growing populations of mice that support NIH-funded research initiatives of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in areas of cancer, geriatrics, neuroscience, immunology, and infectious disease. The scope of the work includes installation of a bulk pass-through autoclave, construction of an interlock, re-location of employee locker rooms, and removal of walls to optimize room sizes for maximal capacity. The SIUSM animal facility and animal care program has no current outstanding or unresolved deficiencies from USDA inspectors, AAALAC, IACUC facility review reports, or the PHS Animal Welfare Assurance Statement. The primary purpose of the current application is to allow us to appropriately accommodate our rapidly increasing rodent populations and thereby to continue to achieve this exemplary performance record. The most imperative need of our program at present is an expansion of barrier housing space for mice to accommodate our faculty's growing use of genetically engineered, spontaneous, and age-related mouse models of human disease. A 1989 expansion of the DLAM facility included an animal housing suite that was intended for primarily for containment housing. A portion of this area is now used as a barrier area for housing immune-incompetent mice. However, our facility also now maintains large numbers of geriatric mice that cannot be accommodated in the barrier due to space limitations. Thus, our limited barrier space seriously impairs our ability to optimally house adequate numbers of immune-incompetent and aged mice in support of our NIH-funded research programs and to properly protect the health status of mice that are genetically unique, aged (often over two years of age), or used in studies of cancer and immune function. Growing numbers of investigators are now requesting procurement of mice from non-vendor sources. Because the containment-quarantine area is contiguous to the barrier suite, this situation presents a substantial risk to standing populations housed in existing barrier colonies. Separation of these two types of activities is clearly prudent and desirable. In addition, we currently have only four cubicles that can be used for quarantine and containment. This space will not be adequate to support our anticipated continued growth in the areas of infectious disease and toxic challenge and in the need for quarantine of non-vendor rodents.