The overall objective of this G20 project is to modernize the cage wash system in the primary BioMedical Center animal facility by replacing the 24 year old Basil Steris 4600 Rack Wash system with a new model Basil Steris 4700 Cage and Rack Wash system. By replacing this Rack Washer before it fails completely we aim to uphold the quality and integrity of Brown's AAALAC International certified animal care and use program by continuing, without major interruption or disruption, to maintain and exceed the standards of animal care necessary for effective scientific research. Nearing the end of its useful life, the 4600 Rack Wash system has increasingly been offline for repairs and now requires replacement parts that are obsolete. This proactive replacement of the """"""""4600"""""""" will sustain and enhance the research practices and productivity of Brown's animal research programs by providing the physical plant environment and equipment redundancy consistent with, and required for, maintaining animals in a state of well-being through timely cage changing. A modernized Cage and Rack wash system, which also includes replacement of two of the oldest cage wash carts and minor utility renovations, will maintain and improve operational efficiency and staff productivity within the animal care facility by continuous and timely physical plant improvement. It will establish a modernized infrastructure that will facilitate a stable, secure an reliable research environment, providing Brown animal research laboratories with critically necessary cage wash service capacity and redundancy. The Animal Care Program at Brown has an annual operating budget of approximately $2M and the BioMedical Center facility currently supports 29 investigators with ~$9.8M in annual direct funding. This facility improvement will support research and educational activities in multiple academic departments, schools, hospitals and collaborating small companies within our broad and collaborative scientific community and allow continued expansion of these research programs. By supporting Brown's federally funded research and discovery programs, the BioMedical facility improvement is aligned with Brown's mission to advance the understanding of living organisms through studies of the behavioral and biological processes upon which their survival and well-being depends. An award would greatly facilitate human health-related research in Rhode Island and at the regional, national, and global level.
