Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (RU)-Office of Research Advancement (ORAd) requests funds to purchase and outfit a new Rack Washer and a new Tunnel Washer in the Research Tower (RT) Animal Care Facility (ACF) located on the Busch campus in Piscataway. The current rack and tunnel washers are more than twenty-six years old and have significant cage wash serviceability and throughput limitations. In addition, the current Rack Washer is not able to wash cages. Without the requested equipment, RU Principal Investigators (PIs) will be unable to properly maintain existing rodent colonies, conduct studies or expand these colonies to meet future needs. Overall, NIH-funded animal research in RT-ACF will be significantly affected. The proposed Tunnel Washer has twice the capacity of the existing one and the proposed Rack Washer will enable significantly faster and more efficient washing of associated racks, cages and equipment than the current model. Significant environmental savings in resources would likewise occur if the cage wash infrastructure were updated. This is the only cage wash facility servicing Robert Wood Johnson Medical School PIs and other RU researchers in the RT-ACF. Although the animal facility in the nearby School of Public Health (SPH) Building ACF has relatively new rack and tunnel washers, the RT-ACF is precluded from sending cages there for routine cleaning due to logistics such as distance, bio-security and more importantly, a heavy wash load at the SPH-ACF. Replacing outdated and highly inefficient equipment with new Rack and Tunnel Washers will enhance ORAd's ability to support NIH-funded investigators in the RT-ACF. This equipment plus 2,104 square foot (SF) of space and supporting infrastructure upgrades fits existing facility dimensions, and utilizes most existing infrastructure. Considerable RU Institutional Support is pledged in order to supplement the requested NIH funding and insure that the project will be successfully completed. New Rack and Tunnel Washers are critically needed to insure that NIH funded animal research can be performed in the RT-ACF.
