Georgetown University has established a centralized animal care and use program which is based in the Research Resources Facility (RRF). The RRF is a state-of-the-art AAALAC accredited facility which supports both biomedical research and education. Georgetown also has expanded the RRF's professional staff which now includes three full-time veterinarians, two full-time veterinary technicians, and a full-time building engineer. With the support and guidance of the Georgetown University Animal Care and Use Committee (GUACUC) which serves as the active overseer of the animal care and use program, Georgetown's commitment to animal research has become a key component to its biomedical research program. Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in biomedical research at Georgetown. Since FY 1986, the number of PHS supported grants and contracts has more than doubled. Parallel to this has been an increase in animal research such that the RRF currently is working at over 90% capacity. As a result, facility and programmatic compromises have been made to accommodate this marked increase in animal research. Such compromises are expected to increase as additional faculty and research projects stretch the capacity of the RRF. The RRF will not be able to support any significant growth in animal research at Georgetown University without jeopardizing their quality of this laboratory animal care program. The goal of this proposal is to expand the RRF by renovating the ground floor of the Dental Clinic into animal housing and research support space. This area is contiguous with the RRF and will preserve the RRF's centralized management and function. Once completed, this project will provide an immediate doubling of available space for animal research. This expansion is essential and timely to keep pace with Georgetown University's growing research activities while maintaining its AAALAC accreditation status and its compliance with federal laws and policies.
