The function of the Animal Core of the University of Louisville’s Diabetes and Obesity Center (DOC) is to provide members of the DOC with the resources, facilities and knowhow needed for the development, interrogation and phenotyping of animal models for diabetes and obesity research using state-of-the-art techniques, procedures and protocols relevant to the evaluation of metabolism and assessment of adiposity, insulin resistance, and the cardiovascular complications of diabetes. By successive accumulation of expertise, resources, and experience, the Core has become an integral component of the Center and an indispensable resource for diabetes and obesity research, comparable with research cores at leading institutions around the country. Developing on this trajectory of success, the Core will continue to provide unique and unduplicated services to UofL investigators, and continue to grow by progressively acquiring and accumulating new capabilities, resources, and expertise.