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.
