Advancing Research Operations at an Emergent R1 Minority-Serving Institution - Project Abstract. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a minority-serving academic institution whose mission is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research, education, community engagement, as an emergent national research institution. At UTEP, there is a critical need for equipment to enhance our research infrastructure and maintain our status as an R1 institute in the years to come. and public service. Our designation as a Carnegie Tier One university R1: Doctoral Universities – very high research activity distinguishes UTEP As a premier biomedical research institution that is heavily engaged in promoting diversity in the scientific workforce, the proposed project will add a critically needed cage/rack washer in our Biosciences Main animal facility. The proposed request will foster our robust and productive biomedical research program involving laboratory animals. The UTEP biomedical research program is being supported by the Department of Laboratory Animal Resources Center (LARC) in partnership with the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The LARC manages and monitors the housing and use of research animals to ensure compliance with applicable Federal, State, and Local laws and guidelines as well as Institutional Policy. The LARC supports the Main animal facility in the Biosciences building, and the 3 additional animal satellite facilities in Psychology, Biology and the Interdisciplinary Research Building (IDRB). Their oversight also includes our Zebra fish aquarium as well as 2 field research stations located off of our main campus. The animal facilities are designed to accommodate exquisitely controlled environments and equipment for the maintenance and care and use of laboratory animals. In a comprehensive assessment of needs and projected growth, we identified a critical need for a cage/rack washer in the Biosciences Main animal facility. The current washer has been in use for more than 10 years, and has exceeded its 10-year life expectancy. This washer is critical to our operations because it provides sanitizing services for equipment used in the Main animal facility as well as for research involving animals housed in the Biology and Psychology animal facilities. The sanitizing services in the newly established IDRB facility is being supported by its own washer that provides services for 3 investigators and their 3 projects as well as being used as a back-up washer for the one in the Main animal facility due to frequent malfunctioning. Therefore, the requested upgraded cage/rack washer will support 39 of 42 active biomedical research projects involving the use of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), mice (Mus species) BALB/c, C57/BL6 and transgenic mice, and rats (Rattus species), Sprague-Dawley and Wistar strains. The 39 projects are being conducted by 25 UTEP faculty from 5 different colleges related to public-health problems in the neurosciences, infectious diseases, cancer, and ecology and evolutionary biology, and biomedical engineering. The upgraded cage/rack washer will provide the support required to sustain the animal care and use program essential for supporting the UTEP's robust and productive biomedical research programs. 1
