RESEARCH ANIMAL SUPPORT FACILITY (RASF) The Research Animal Support Facility in Houston (RASF-H) and the RASF in Smithville (RASF-S) are centralized AAALAC International accredited core animal resources providing housing, procedure space, and research services to support MD Anderson's animal research studies. Dr. Peggy Tinkey, the previous RASF director, is retiring as of 1/2/2019. Dr. Vanessa Jensen has been appointed to serve as the director as of 9/1/2018, with Dr. Lezlee Coghlan serving as co-director. The 132,212 sq ft RASF-H facilities include barrier, hazard containment (biological/chemical/radioisotope) and quarantine areas for rodents, rabbits, fish, dogs, pigs, and primates. Specialized infrastructure and services include use of ?smart technology? to support operations (facility and building automation and computerized animal management systems), surgical suites, irradiators, and veterinary pathology laboratories. RASF faculty collaborate in the design and operation of specialized areas for behavioral, gnotobiotic, metabolism, and PDX rodent models. The 26,608 sq ft RASF-S is located at the 700-acre Science Park campus in central Texas and has 3 components: Animal Resource Services (ARS), Laboratory Animal Genetic Services (LAGS), and the Research Histology, Pathology, and Imaging Core (RHPI). The RASF's average daily cage census has increased 11% from grant Yr37. RASF-H served 264 cancer center members in 67 departments and all 16 CCSG programs, and RASF-S components supported 56 cancer center members in 23 departments and 16 CCSG programs. Most usage of RASF is from the Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics, Gastrointestinal Cancers, and Cancer Biology and Metastasis programs. During the current award period, the institution has provided approximately $15M in infrastructure and facility renovations, as well as $3,577,599 for the purchase of new equipment. In Yr42, peer-reviewed funding accounted for 96% of the total usage of the RASF. The annual operating budget of the RASF in Yr44 is expected to be $15,636,634, 6% ($875,532) of which is requested from the CCSG, with institutional support of $4,718,397 (30%) and philanthropic or other grant support of $589,831 (4%). The RASF has contributed to 881 manuscripts during the current award period, of which 632 (72%) were in journals with IF >5, and 255 (29%) in journals with IF >10.
The Specific Aims are:
Aim 1 : To provide high-quality, state-of-the-art, affordable animal facilities that enhance animal study reproducibility by controlling for and minimizing variables, including factors that affect the environment, animal health, model fidelity, and data integrity.
Aim 2 : To provide expert consultation and collaboration in areas including animal husbandry, veterinary care, surgical and imaging techniques, and rodent colony management.
Aim 3 : To provide specialized services such as rodent-specific genetic characterization and research histology for both live animals and cell lines, to develop new surgical techniques and imaging procedures, and to collaborate on the design of animal studies for therapeutic discovery and preclinical drug development.
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