The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science has just completed the construction of a three-story 35,000 square foot complex (Pharmacology-Toxicology Teaching & Research Center), the third floor of which will constitute a l3,000 square foot Vivarium which will replace existing antiquated animal care facilities. Occupation of the new facility will commence mid-July, l983 and full operation of the Vivarium is anticipated for early fall, l983.
The specific aims of this grant request are to obtain """"""""phase-in"""""""" funds over a three year period to support personnel to operate the facility, to purchase 40% of caging needs and to obtain selected equipment relevant to animal maintenance and health procedures (i.e., automatic watering system, clinical diagnostic services). An ongoing capital development campaign has provided $5.2 million for the construction of the facility and it is anticipated that a $2.5 million endowment fund will be generated over the next one to two years, the interest of which will defray overhead costs of running the Vivarium and the Pharmacology-Toxicology Center. It is the intent of this request to obtain supportive funds to implement Vivarium operations anticipating that in two to three years, the Vivarium will be l00% operational and totally supported from within the College Administration (endowment interest) and from research grant support and collaborative research arrangements with the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. The long term objectives are to significantly upgrade the animal care facilities at the College to (l) attain conformity to NIH animal care guidelines and the Animal Welfare Act and to become AAALAC accredited, (2) to provide a modern Vivarium to support our diverse and expanding research training and teaching programs in the areas of pharmacology, toxicology, biopharmaceutics, biology, medicinal chemistry and pharmacy at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, (3) to facilitate the growth of a progressive in-depth animal research program, particularly in pharmacology and toxicology, to enable our investigators to compete more effectively for governmental and foundation research support and (4) to facilitate a cost-effective animal research program that will provide a more controlled environment to maintain proper animal health and yield more valid experimental data.
