The children's Hospital Animal Facility contains centralized housing for cats, dogs, mice, rats, rabbits, gerbils, primates, guinea pigs and sheep. Its 9490 square feet represent 29 animal holding rooms and 8 rooms dedicated to laboratory animal support services. The facility staff include a veterinarian, veterinary assistant, an animal care technician supervisor, seven animal care technicians, and a secretary. The investigators using the Children's Hospital Animal Facility received approximately 27 million dollars in fiscal year 1987 in direct cost support from both federal and private sources. This effort involves approximately 110 investigators from 32 departments conducting biomedical research as well as pre- and post- doctoral training. The facility houses animals used in 146 active animal research protocols for projects involved with advances in basic science and health care fields as diverse as nutrition, genetics, neurosurgery, molecular biology, emergency room medicine, cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, cancer chemotherapy, infectious diseases, and general physiology. This proposal represents a request for new cages and other animal husbandry support equipment which will enhance the quality of lives of laboratory animals, improve the efficiency of cage washing, sanitation and animal care procedures, facilitate veterinary preventive medicine and treatment programs and help the hospital receive AAALAC accreditation.
