In keeping with its commitment to improve its research and teaching capability to comply with all laws regulations and agency guidelines regarding the humane care and use of laboratory animals and to respond to a heightened public sensitivity Drexel University has established a centralized animal resource - the Calhoun Comparative Medicine Laboratory - to serve the entire University. This resource which opened for the care of animals in September of 1990 occupies a net usable space of 7750 square feet and represents an expenditure for construction of 1.84 million dollars. It is the clear intention of Trexel University that this resource will eventuate in the accreditation of the University by the American Association for the Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care. Because of its extensive resources and experience in the quantitative technical and informatics aspects of health related research Drexel University has a unique contribution to make to the wider community of Laboratory Animal Science.
The specific aim of this proposal is the acquisition of major resource equipment namely animal cages,, to effectuate the objective of bringing all University animal resources and activities to the new centralized Calhoun laboratory and to replace equipment currently on loan from the Naval Air Development Center which is due to be returned in the near future. The caging request is essential for fulfillment of our plan to have the Calhoun Laboratory accomodate animals and projects from satellite facilities in the University and which will permit us to provide high quality physical and management environment for the laboratory animal needs of the entire University.
