The objective of this core is to provide a significant upgrade to the existing laboratory animal facilities at Delaware State University (DSU) to meet the demand of a growing research faculty. While the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources at DSU maintains significant poultry and large animal facilities for their livestock research, small animal facilities for biomedical research are sorely lacking on our campus. Currently, rodent facilities at DSU consist of a single room in the Mishoe Science Center that can only be used to house a few animals of a single species for a day or two prior to euthanasia. To address this critical lack in the infrastructure for biomedical research, the University has committed a 1650 square foot space in the former Herbarium building for renovation into an American Association for the Advancement of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC)-compliant rodent housing facility. The proposed renovation will remove existing shelving installed to hold plant specimens and divide the 1650 sq ft space into five separate rooms. These will include three holding rooms to allow simultaneous housing of rats and mice, as well as a special populations room for animals that need to be isolated. The renovated space will also include a preparative/cage-wash area, a procedure room outfitted for necropsy and an office area for an animal care technician. In order to meet AAALAC requirements for animal housing, the windows will be removed, and the doors, ceiling, floor, plumbing, electrical and HVAC system will ali be upgraded. Upon completion of the renovation, the animal facility will be equipped with cages and a cage wash/sterilization apparatus, and the animal housing rooms will be equipped with a temperature/humidity monitoring system. Once the renovation is complete, Delaware State University will maintain the facility and apply for AAALAC accreditation for it.
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