MODEL SYSTEMS SHARED RESOURCE: LABORATORY ANIMAL FACILITY (LAF) PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Laboratory Animal Facility (LAF) allows the creation and use of translational animal models to facilitate research for Cancer Center members. The animal care program at FCCC has been fully accredited by AAALAC International since 1969 and has been awarded Emeritus status. The LAF is in full compliance with regulatory agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, and Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare. Under the direction of Hilton Klein, VMD and with the support of 16 LAF management and technical staff, the LAF provides animal husbandry and animal support services for Cancer Center members who require mice, rabbits, frogs or other rodents for their research. Under the direction of Jennifer Rhodes, PhD, and the support of a scientific technician, a new Zebrafish service line is now available to Cancer Center members. Zebrafish are an ideal model to discover genes that are essential for hematopoietic development in vivo. The spectrum of blood cell types and the genes known to regulate normal hematopoiesis are well conserved between zebrafish and mammals, suggesting that the regulatory mechanisms directing lineage specification and differentiation are similar across vertebrate species. 38 Cancer Center members used the LAF in 2014. 95% of the mouse cages occupied in 2014 supported the science of investigators with peer-reviewed funding. 100% of the use of zebrafish services was in support of peer-review funded investigators in 2014. For the period 2011-2014, the LAF was utilized by 55 Cancer Center members from all five Research Programs. A Comparative Medical Research Building was constructed during the last cycle at a cost of $14M. ARRA funds of $8M were matched with institutional investment of $6M. This new vivarium adjoins the existing LAF building and provides an additional 12,511 net square feet for animal housing and procedures. FCCC invested $765,783 in renovations and equipment to make zebrafish services available. An on-site, centralized LAF is cost efficient and critical to the peer-reviewed, funded research programs at FCCC. The research animals and animal care staff are readily available to investigators and modifications in breeding, husbandry, or treatment protocols can be readily accomplished reducing any delay or misinterpretation. Although an off-site commercial facility could conceivably supply and care for FCCC research animals, the inconvenience to the investigators in both travel and transporting animals to and from FCCC would be a serious impairment to research. The majority (90%) of the approved animal use protocols involve at least weekly, in some instances daily, observations, data, or tissue collections by the research staff. The LAF is advised by a dedicated Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) that meets at least annually. FAC recommendations are directed to a governing Facility Parent Oversight Committee (FPOC), which serves to ensure that the LAF continues to have the necessary resources to provide the highest quality services. The FPOC issues reports to senior leadership.
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