This proposal for facilities improve will enable the University of Medicine and Dentistry or New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to undertake required renovations and to purchase essential equipment needed to support high quality animal care in support of research funded by PHS and from other agencies. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is a separate medical school under the University of Medicine and Dentistry system. The annual research funding involving animal research is more than $10 million. Approximately eighty Principal Investigators use over 48,000 animals annually. The Department of the Vivarium provides a centralized animal resources program which includes animal ordering, husbandry management and health care for animal research in facilities at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. These facilities are fully accredited by AAALAC.
The aims of this proposal are to meet our long term goals of ensuring humane use and are of animals and improve the overall efficiency of our operations. To accomplish these aims, 6720 gross square foot alteration and upgrade of existing animal facilities at the Piscataway campus is proposed; funding for additional animal caging, a bulk autoclave, and autoclave loading carts are induced in this proposal as essential to the improvement project. Specific objectives of this proposal are to meet all PHS standards for animal environment, provide for the separation of animals by health status, and to accommodate the increasing census of mice and rats being generated by additional investigators and expanding NIH support. With this NIH grant support, we an rectify current inadequacies and begin to meet the needs of an increasing animal census.
