Metabolic Research Animal Facility

描述（由申请人提供）：研究动物设施（RAF）是杰克逊实验室（JAX）进行研究的核心。JAX的主要研究人员目前拥有138个奖项，每年总计超过4790万美元用于小鼠研究。英国皇家空军最古老的部分可以追溯到1947年，并且随着研究需求的变化，老鼠饲养实践的发展以及定义健康状态的重要性的认识而不断修改。在过去的10年里，JAX已经投入了近600万美元用于改进英国皇家空军以适应这些变化。哺乳动物遗传学/基因组学的新兴趋势继续推动JAX小鼠使用模式的变化。首先，JAX开发了用于模拟人类基因组变异的新小鼠模型，并在大型中心资助的核心资源菌落中进行维护。研究人员使用这些菌落来识别参与各种复杂性状的位点，然后保持更小的个体菌落来优化地图位置，识别和验证候选基因。其次，许多JAX研究人员正在使用较小的特殊突变小鼠菌落对各种生物和分子过程进行功能分析。第三，必须在人体组织中验证人类疾病的功能评估和潜在的治疗干预措施。JAX率先在免疫功能受损小鼠宿主方面取得进展，使多种人体组织能够长期植入。所有这些研究应用都需要1)高屏障动物饲养室，在那里可以持续保持实验小鼠的健康状态；2)灵活的操作空间，在那里可以评估表型，进行实验操作，收集组织。一个跨机构规划委员会已为皇家空军制订长远计划，以满足这些及其他预期需要。该提案要求为该计划的第一步提供部分资金。JAX将投入机构资金，预计总额超过95万美元，以完成该项目。随着RAF中维持的单个小鼠菌落的平均大小的减小，JAX可以重新配置空间以提供更灵活的程序空间，并修改现有的动物饲养室以允许作为高屏障进行操作。为了实现这一目标，我们建议：1)将20号楼的2845和2835房间升级为高屏障，购买并配备积极单独通风（PIV）的笼子系统和通风换衣站。通过现有的配备空气淋浴的人员出入口锁进入专用洁净走廊，为这些房间提供服务。2)通过创建和装备三个总计455平方英尺的手术室来扩大手术室空间。这些房间的设计提供了最大的灵活性，以适应日益复杂和专业的研究程序。两个房间将配备贝克NCB-D4垂直流动生物安全柜。其中一个将配备移动工作站，以最大限度地灵活配置。该项目将由设施服务高级总监约翰·菲茨帕特里克（John Fitzpatrick）监督，他将担任设施人员/项目经理。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Research Animal Facility (RAF) is central to the research conducted at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX). JAX principal investigators currently hold 138 awards totaling over $47.9 million annually for research using mice. The oldest portion of the RAF dates from 1947, and has been modified ever since as research needs changed, mouse husbandry practices evolved and the importance of defined health status was recognized. In the past 10 years, JAX has made nearly $6 million in improvements to the RAF to accommodate these changes. Emerging trends in mammalian genetics/genomics continue to drive change in patterns of mouse use at JAX. First, new mouse models for modeling human genomic variation have been developed at JAX, and are maintained in core resource colonies supported by large center grants. Researchers use these colonies to identify loci participating in a variety of complex traits, and then maintain smaller, individual colonies to refine map positions, identify and validate candidate genes. Second, many JAX investigators are using smaller colonies of specialty mutant strains of mice to conduct functional analyses on a variety of biological and molecular processes. Third, functional assessments and potential therapeutic interventions for human disease must be verified in human tissues. Advances in immunocompromised mouse hosts pioneered at JAX enable long-term engraftment of a variety of human tissues. All of these research applications require 1) high barrier animal holding rooms where the health status of experimental mice can be consistently maintained, and 2) flexible procedure space where phenotypes can be assessed, experimental manipulations performed, and tissues collected. A cross-institutional planning committee has developed a long-range plan for the RAF to meet these and other anticipated needs. This proposal requests partial funding for the first step in this plan. JAX will commit institutional funds, expected to total over $950,000, to complete the project. As the average size of individual mouse colonies maintained in the RAF decreases, JAX can reconfigure space to provide more flexible procedure space and modify existing animal holding rooms to allow operation as high barriers. To meet this objective, we propose to: 1) upgrade rooms 2845 and 2835 in Building 20 to high barriers, by purchasing and outfitting them with positively individually ventilated (PIV) caging system and ventilated changing stations. A dedicated clean corridor accessed via an existing air shower-equipped personnel entry/exit lock will service these rooms. 2) expand procedure room space by creating and equipping three procedure rooms totaling 455 ft2. The rooms are designed to offer maximum flexibility of use to accommodate increasingly complex and specialized research procedures. Two rooms will be equipped with Baker NCB-D4 Vertical Flow Biological Safety Cabinets. One will be furnished with mobile workstations to maximize flexible configuration. The project will be overseen by John Fitzpatrick, P.E., Senior Director of Facilities Services, who will serve as Facilities Person/Project Manager.