Cage Wash Expansion and Renovation in University of Missouri's School of Medicine

描述（由申请人提供）：我们要求500，000美元用于扩大和翻新密苏里大学哥伦比亚分校的笼子清洗区，并购买HEPA过滤的笼子更换站，用于该动物园的屏障部分。SOM有针对性的研究人员招聘，加上一个高生产力的建立研究教师，创造了一个迫切需要在SOM动物园容纳更多的啮齿动物。该动物饲养场的容纳能力目前不受动物房空间的限制，而是受通过笼清洗区处理足够设备的能力的限制，以满足所需的笼更换频率。我们目前的机架清洗机几乎需要一个小时才能完成一个周期;我们在8小时的工作日中仅限于9个负载。我们现有的洗瓶机/灌装机一次可容纳1个瓶子架，其配置使其只能灌装传统笼中使用的瓶子。我们通风架上的瓶子必须手工灌装。尽管每周7天进行笼清洗，但我们无法产生足够的清洁笼和配件来支持该动物园中动物数量的增加。扩大笼清洗区的占地面积和安装高效和资源节约的设备将缓解这一问题。购买HEPA过滤更换站，以取代屏障中的水平层流罩，将大大减少动物护理人员和研究人员接触空气传播的啮齿动物过敏原，从而保护他们的健康。相关性：基于动物的研究对于研究糖尿病、癌症、子宫内膜异位症和肌肉萎缩症等人类疾病至关重要。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We request $500,000 to expand and renovate the cage wash area in the, University of Missouri-Columbia, and to purchase HEPA- filtered cage changing stations for use in the barrier portion of this vivarium. Targeted research faculty recruitment in the SOM, combined with a highly productive established research faculty, have created a critical need to house more rodents in the SOM vivarium. The holding capacity of this vivarium is currently limited not by space in the animal rooms but by the ability to process enough equipment through the cage wash area to meet required cage changing frequencies. Our current rack washer takes almost an hour to complete a cycle; we are limited to 9 loads during an 8-hour work day. Our existing bottle washer/filler has a capacity of 1 rack of bottles at a time and is configured so that it can only fill bottles used in conventional cages. Bottles for our ventilated racks must be filled by hand. Despite operating the cage wash 7 days a week for extended shifts, we cannot generate enough clean cages and accessories to support an increase in animal numbers in this vivarium. Expansion of the footprint of the cage wash area and installation of efficient and resource-conservative equipment will mitigate this problem. Purchase of HEPA-filtered changing stations to replace the horizontal laminar flow hoods in the barrier will protect the health of animal care staff and research personnel by greatly decreasing their exposure to airborne rodent allergens. Relevance: Animal-based research is essential to study human diseases such as diabetes, cancer, endometriosis, and muscular dystrophy.