OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
The long-term goal of this project is to provide high-quality animal care and housing that enhances the productivity of Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)'s PHS-funded researchers. This proposal has two specific aims: 1) to expand the capacity of mouse housing space in the Biomedical Research Building (BRB) and 2) to improve access to high-quality animal care. OHSU has rapidly expanded its biomedical research, from $100M in external funding in 1997 to $307M in 2007, an increase of 325%. During this time, the use of mice has grown 296% with an increase of 22% in FY2008. This growth had placed the animal facilities at the upper limit of their capacity. The BRB is a recently completed building with state-of-the-art animal facilities built in response to the increasing need for research space and animal housing. The BRB is the home of world-class faculty in pulmonary, stem cell, neuroscience, and cancer research programs, including the laboratory that developed the first successful molecularly targeted cancer drug (imatinib). Faculty in the BRB house the majority of their animals in other buildings on campus, contributing to inefficient use of resources and transportation stress on animals. The goal of this proposal is to add individually ventilated mouse caging systems that will house up to 12,000 mice. This will expand OHSU's mouse housing capacity by 30% and benefit OHSU researchers by providing state-of-the-art animal care facilities, as well as by supporting recruitment and retention of faculty and allowing for continued growth of OHSU's research programs.