This Program Project Grant designed an animal core to improve cost effectiveness and provide efficiency for the projects in the program. Projects I, II,III will all use sheep through the assistance of the core. The Animal Core provides many advantages for PPG investigators. First, it is much easier to schedule a time-mated breeding program with sheep suppliers, and less expensive by use ofthe """"""""economy of scale."""""""" It would be chaotic to have every sheep investigator trying to buy sheep independently. Second, it is often possible to share tissues, and on occasion live animals with other investigators who need similariy instrumented animals for a slightly different purpose. Third, the Department of Comparative Medicine shares animal laboratories within the animal facility for the purpose of chronic experimentation. It would be difficult to overstate the convenience of not having to transport instrumented animals across campus, apart from the otherwise worrisome considerations of the transmission of zoonotic diseases. Fourth, many of the personnel in our Department of Comparative Medicine are highly skilled in the handling of pregnant and neonatal sheep;these skills need to be preserved and an animal core under the directorship of one of the DCM veterinarians is the logical way to do this. Fifth and finally. Dr. Saunders is able to be more involved in each project than is normally possible with the usual arrangement between research projects and DCM veterinary staff. She is an outstanding asset to the University and to the PPG. As a member of the PPG team. Dr. Saunders understands the special needs of each project. Cost effectiveness of this core comes in several forms: First and foremost is coordination in the buying and delivering of animals, 2) sharing personnel for routine care of animals and surgery suite, 3) saving money on veterinary care, 4) saving by buying drugs at lower cost.
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