This request for alteration and renovation represents a key step in the Indiana University School of Medicine's (IUSM) commitment to create a model humane and scientific environment to support the School's substantial and growing research programs dependent on well cared-for animals. Renovation of approximately 3,600 square feet of storage space adjacent, but currently without access, to the IUSM Laboratory Animal Resource Center (LARC) will enhance the centralization of animal care services, reduce incipient crowding, provide a margin of relief for very tightly scheduled protocols, and permit the planned move of five animal rooms and a transgenic mouse facility now located in less than desirable, and largely abandoned, animal quarters in another building originally constructed in 1957. It is anticipated that renovation of the new space will improve our eligibility for AALAC accreditation as we proceed with the implementation of a phased plan to consolidate resources, maintain standards and provide necessary services as effectively as possible.
