The long-term goals of The University of Montana-Missoula (UM) are to develop and maintain the institutional infrastructure and programs necessary for a state-of-the-art animal resource program and continued accreditation by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International. Institutional support in the past 4 years totaled approximately $1,300,000. The laboratory animal technicians have achieved certification (3 LATg, 1 LAT, 2 ALAT) by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) and received the 2006 Northern Rocky Mountain Branch of AALAS Technician of the Year Award and the 2007 UM Outstanding Teamwork Award. Successful funding of this grant will significantly impact the development of infrastructure at UM and will advance public health by directly supporting the biomedical research efforts of 21 principal investigators conducting 47 active projects, 44 of which are funded by 24 Public Health Service grants totaling $7,827,999 in research funding.
The specific aims of this proposal are to 1) modernize and standardize the care of specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice, 2) expand SPF mouse breeding and housing into a newly constructed barrier facility, and 3) protect personnel from allergens and nonvolatile chemical hazards. Animal transfer stations for all rodent housing rooms, biological safety cabinets for quarantine and nonvolatile chemical hazard SPF mouse housing rooms, and individually ventilated caging, bedding disposal containment cabinet, and automatic water bottle filler for the new facility will accomplish these aims.
