Research programs at the University of Arizona (UA) focus on the goals of the DHHS Healthy People 2020 initiative: attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death; eliminate disparities and improve the health of all groups; create social and physical environments that promote good health for all; and promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages. Specific areas of UA research excellence include pain alleviation, neuroscience, memory and aging, respiratory disease, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, infectious disease, immunology, biomedical engineering, and genomics. Animal research is vital to these and other research programs that are growing at the UA. Improved animal facilities will aid in recruitment of research faculty, graduate students, and staff. Resulting research discoveries will enhance the health and well-being of all Americans. University Animal Care (UAC), the centralized animal care program for the UA, recently completed conversion of all mouse housing to individually-ventilated caging (IVC). This has reduced personnel exposure to allergens, improved biosecurity, and provided significant cost savings. UAC now proposes to complete the transition of rats from conventional, open top caging to IVC. Many published studies and anecdotal reports have shown the positive impacts of IVC on both rodents and the personnel who work with them, especially when ventilated cage change stations are also used. Contamination of the macroenvironment with Rat n1 allergen can be dramatically reduced, which decreases the occupational health risks to employees and researchers who work in rodent rooms. Disease transmission from infected rats to uninfected rats or people (if zoonotic) can be prevented. The cage microenvironment is significantly improved through decreased moisture and ammonia levels. Husbandry care costs can be reduced through labor and supply savings. The use of IVC increases the capacity of animal rooms and facilities by providing a higher rodent cage density per footprint. Facilities can house many more animals, often doubling inventory without significant renovation or costly construction of new facilities. The scope of this grant is to secure funding to purchase IVC systems and ventilated change stations for rats housed in two UAC animal facilities, the Arizona Health Sciences Center Animal Facility (7 animal holding rooms comprising 1,630 NASF) and the Main Campus Central Animal Facility (1 animal holding room comprising 231 NASF). This equipment will be used to maintain rats used in PHS-funded research.
Specific Aim 1 : Purchase 13 double-sided rat individually-ventilated cage (IVC) racks with autowater capability, associated cages, and cage accessories.
Specific Aim 2 : Purchase 8 ventilated cage change stations.
