? The Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) projects future growth of its research programs. To support this growth, construction of new animal housing space is already underway or planned on two of the institution's four campuses. Construction of new research space will require considerable institutional investment over the next few years. At the same time, existing infrastructure needs must be addressed, including maintenance of physical facilities used to support ongoing research, and investments in new caging required to maintain compliance with animal welfare regulations and house WFUSM's expanding animal populations. This situation puts WFUSM's future growth in conflict with existing infrastructure needs. ? ? This application requests funds for purchase of: 1) 10 individually ventilated cage systems (racks and cages), which will be used to house growing colonies of valuable specific-pathogen-free mice; 2) 16 nonhuman primate social housing racks, to replace existing racks that do not allow pair or group housing; and 3) two new cagewashers, to replace 40-year-old and 21-year-old washers. Funds for these improvements are requested because they are among the institution's most critical infrastructure needs and represent the animal facility upgrades that will have the largest impact on WFUSM's PHS-supported biomedical and behavioral research. The acquisition of this new equipment is necessary for WFUSM to maintain compliance with regulatory and accreditation criteria and, as such, is essential to the continued success of the institution's extramurally funded research programs. ? ? The requests made in this application will be administered centrally by WFUSM's Animal Resources Program, maximizing the number of current and future users who benefit from the improvements. The improvements will directly impact the research of 49 investigators who currently hold $17.1 million (annual direct costs) in externally funded projects and 48 investigators who have applied for $60.4 million (total direct costs) in pending projects. If funded, this application will provide a mechanism for WFUSM to maintain existing infrastructure while it invests in space required to support new initiatives and growth of its successful research programs. ? ?
