The University of Louisville (UofL) is an Institution of Emerging Excellence (IEE) and one of 23 states designated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) state, serving the research needs of medically underserved communities. As part of the IDeA state program, UofL is the recipient of four NIH funded Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) projects to target local and regional health crises in Kentucky and Appalachia. These include centers in 1) Diabetes and Obesity, 2) Microbiome, 3) Hepatobiology and Toxicology, and 4) Cancer. UofL is also the recipient of NIH funding for the Alcohol Center and the Envirome Institute Superfund Research Center, which studies the effects of cigarette smoke, e-cigarettes and other inhaled toxins on the cardiovascular system. UofL is requesting $8,000,000 to renovate the ninth floor of the A-Tower Research Building to provide a centralized modern vivarium, to house primarily rodent and aquatics species to support a broad range of research efforts. The proposed renovation will replace and consolidate rodent housing rooms on nine separate floors of the A-Tower and one room in the Dental School, connected by a public pedway. The new facility will triple present animal housing space and improve efficiency for investigators by providing animal housing and procedural space within the new facility. It will also isolate animals from public areas and provide a barrier level of biosecurity for rodent colonies. This innovative facility design maximizes flexibility for our ongoing needs and projected growth. The design features multi-purpose rooms that can be animal housing or procedural space, with minimal fixed equipment. The new facility also includes specialized inhalation rooms and ABSL2 procedure space, which is not currently available. The location of the A-Tower and its numerous enclosed connections to surrounding research buildings make it an ideal location for a centralized vivarium and an academic research hub. This new facility will provide essential support for the four NIH funded COBRE grants, the Envirome Institute Superfund, and over 80 investigators in at least thirteen departments with combined NIH and other funding of over $25 million. This project will support long-term institutional research plans and provide long-term modern improvements to our research infrastructure, serving as a base for a broad range of investigators and their research efforts institution-wide on a shared basis, with a strong emphasis on clinical translational research. In addition to having a local and regional impact, despite being an IEE, this project also has national impact through the support of our numerous COBRE and Superfund grants.
