The objective of the proposed alteration and renovation is to provide dedicated conventional animal holding facilities and instrument rooms to junior principal investigators and their lab groups involved in the COBRE entitled ?Center for Lung Biology and Disease?. Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) has recruited several Promising Junior Investigators (PJIs) in the area of lung research who utilize the existing using rodents and specialized equipment. The vivarium at LSU SVM were designed in the 1970s, when the paradigm of design was animal holding rooms primarily for teaching purposes. This design does not promote collaboration, and it is less efficient with regard to use of space than large, relatively open, and shared animal holding rooms. Because of the increasing animal usage, the vivarium requires more conventional animal holding rooms, dedicated equipment rooms for animal experiments, and clearly separated rooms to use infectious and non-infectious agents. While LSU SVM has committed to expand the vivarium space in order to provide a renovated BSL2-level facility, the major need for renovation in the COBRE is to create separate animal holding and equipment rooms (suite) that can be shared by PJIs and their lab groups to promote the opportunities for shared animals, and core equipment, collaborative research, and positive interactions. The renovation project will be located in space previously used as office spaces. This is adjacent to the existing DLAM Suite and will resulted in 3 animal holding rooms and 2 equipment units that can accommodate the animals and the equipment to perform lung disease research by COBRE investigators. First, these renovations will increase the efficiency of animal use, foster collaborations among PJIs, and enhance productivity. Second, these renovations will ensure environmental quality, safety, security, and care for the laboratory animals and reduce cross contaminations. We will complete the goal using 2 Specific Aims.
Aim 1 is to build a dedicated animal holding and instrument rooms for the COBRE in order to increase the efficiency of animal use, foster collaborations among PJIs, and enhance productivity.
Aim 2 is to renovate the existing open space into closed space in order to avoid cross contamination of infectious and non-infectious agents. As we expand our research cluster in order to establish as a nationally/internationally recognized Center for Lung Health and Disease at the LSUSVM, the proposed renovation is expected to serve as an ideal model of how to maximize the use of rodent experiments by the current COBRE PJIs. In addition, we expect these renovations to contribute greatly to the success of the COBRE by providing additional animal and equipment holding units for the next several years that will be used by the current and future COBRE PJIs. Ultimately, this renovation makes efficient use of animal space and foster collaborations among COBRE PJIs and other COBRE investigators
We propose to establish a Center of Excellence (COE) in Lung Disease Research that will provide Promising Junior Investigators an environment that maximizes their research potential. The purpose of the proposed renovations is to provide dedicated animal holding facilities and instrument rooms (a suite) to junior principal investigators and their lab groups involved in the COBRE. First, these renovations will increase the efficiency of animal use, foster collaborations among PJIs, and enhance productivity. Second, these renovations will ensure environmental quality, safety, security, and care for the laboratory animals and reduce cross contaminations.
