Animal Barrier

The Animal Barrier Shared Resource (ABSR) provides specific pathogen-free (SPF) rodent housing and services that are critical to the research of Albert Einstein Cancer Center (AECC) members and the Center's programmatic activities. The ABSR is a component of the Institute of Animal Studies (IAS), Einstein's AAALAC accredited animal care & use program. The ABSR provides a broad spectrum of animal husbandry services including: veterinary care, comprehensive rodent quality assurance and quarantine programs. There is an intensive program of instruction for AECC members and their trainees prior to allowing their access to the facilities to implement matings, genotype progeny, characterize mouse phenotypes, implant tumors and measure their growth, administer drugs, and obtain tissue biopsies. The capacity of the ABSR has been substantially increased since 2007 with the creation of a new SPF barrier facility in the Price Center that was opened in 2008 with a housing capacity of approximately 8,000 cages. With renovation and expansion of the two other existing facilities there is now an overall SPF mouse housing capacity of 25,000 cages. AECC members accounted for 58% of the total ABSR usage (cage care-days) and 47% of the maximum housing capacity of the resource during the reporting year (FYE'12). AECC investigators also account for 51% of mouse purchases and 54% of miscellaneous services provided by the ABSR /IAS. The IAS has an operating budget of over $7 M. Personnel expenses account for about 64% of the operating budget. IAS personnel include three faculty Laboratory Animal Veterinarians (including the Director), an Operations Manager, three Facility Supervisors, five Veterinary Technicians, office staff, and approximately 48 Animal Caretakers. The support requested in this application provides partial salary support for the ABSR Director, Operations manager, and Animal Facility Supervisors in each of the three main ABSR Facilities, and constitutes about 5% of total IAS personnel expenses.