# Core B: Animal Care and Germ-Free Mouse Core

> **NIH NIH U2C** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $162,700

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract – Core B. Animal Care and Germ-Free Mouse Core
The Animal Care and Germ-Free Mouse Core of the proposed Michigan Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center
will play a central role in the management of animal flow through the Center's phenotyping cores from initial
acquisition to final disposition of imported mice. Both the Core Director and Associate Director are DVM/PhD
veterinary scientists and diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. The Co-Director is a
veterinarian and diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. Specific functions of the
Animal Care Core include the coordination of mouse importation, quarantine and environmental testing for a
panel of murine pathogens, providing housing, husbandry and veterinary care of mice in accordance with the
MMPC guidelines. In addition, research services such as hands-on technical support, in house clinical and
diagnostic pathology, as well as germ-free technology and expertise will be unique components of our Core.
Germ-free C57BL/6 and Swiss-Webster mice as well as several genetically engineered strains will be available
to MMPC investigators. In addition, investigators may import germ-free mice from other institutions or request
rederivation of new germ free strains. Experimental manipulations available for germ-free and SPF mice
include routine treatments, sample collections and in-house analysis (blood, feces, urine, etc), necropsy,
histology, special histochemical staining and immunohistochemistry, histopathologic interpretation, training,
and experimental design consultation, among others. Goals of the Animal Care and Germ-Free Mouse Core
are to provide the highest level of health and well-being as well as veterinary expertise for all research animals
in our USDA-certified and AAALAC-accredited facilities. All Core services will be performed under University
of Michigan UCUCA approved protocols. All SPF mice will be housed in Allentown ventilated racks. Germ-
free mice will be maintained in isolators or Tecniplast Isocage racks. Barrier conditions including cage
changing in vertical laminar flow changing stations, strict adherence to microisolator techniques, and use of
isolated rooms for colony segregation will assure maintenance of pathogen free animals. In addition, the
Animal Core will provide oversight for technical support such as dose administration, obtaining body weights,
fasting, glucose levels, providing and monitoring special diets, and transfer of mice to and from ULAM housing
to the laboratories of additional Cores of the MMPC.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9972923
- **Project number:** 5U2CDK110768-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert Edwin Sigler
- **Activity code:** U2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $162,700
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9972923

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9972923, Core B: Animal Care and Germ-Free Mouse Core (5U2CDK110768-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9972923. Licensed CC0.

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