# COCA: Animal & Validation Core B

> **NIH NIH P50** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2021 · $544,037

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY – Animal & Validation Core B
The overarching goals and responsibilities of the Animal & Validation Core B are to provide
transgenic rodents with uniform histories of contingent drug delivery to the Center on Opioid and
Cocaine Addiction (COCA) projects and validate the reagents and transgenic animals that are
used. As such, Core B is a critical component of COCA synergy between Core C, and Projects
1-3 in the COCA by providing research subjects. The rodents include age-matched male and
female rats and mice that have undergone cocaine, heroin, or sucrose self-administration and
that are distributed to the projects for subsequent use according to each projects aims. Animals
supplied by Core B include transgenic mice and rats for determining cell-type and circuit
specificity relevant to the neurobiology of addiction. The unified Core B provides an efficient
rotation of laboratory animals that creates synergy between the projects. In addition to rodents,
Core B promotes synergy through the production of custom AAV viral vectors, verification of
viral vector efficacy and cell specific expression, and quantitative co-localization analysis. In
providing the validation services and transgenic rodents, the Animal Core B will meet the
following additional objectives:
1. Maintain a high quality of technical assistance through rigorous training protocols designed
with strict adherence to all institutional guidelines regarding health and safety in order to
guarantee consistency of handling and ensure we are generating the healthiest subjects for our
experimental purposes.
2. Establish a centralized record keeping system updated on the COCA server that aids in the
transparency and dissemination of data to allow for comparisons between behavioral data and
the endpoint evaluations conducted by the projects.
3. Provide a database of confirmed reagents uploaded onto the public and private COCA
servers in order to identify and unify solutions for common issues associated with validation of
new reagents.
4. Serve as a training center for MUSC and non-MUSC personal interested in establishing
contingent models of drug delivery in their laboratories for rats and mice.
5. Become a resource for personnel needing guidance on the use of viral vector plasmids,
establishing cell-type specificity, validating transgenic animals, and using quantitative
colocalization techniques.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10168495
- **Project number:** 5P50DA046373-03
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** Carmela M Reichel
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $544,037
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-15 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10168495

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10168495, COCA: Animal & Validation Core B (5P50DA046373-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10168495. Licensed CC0.

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