# Animal Care Core

> **NIH NIH U2C** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2020 · $173,733

## Abstract

CORE B: ANIMAL CARE CORE 
ABSTRACT (CORE B) 
The Animal Care Core (Core B) provides project support for animal care and housing, importation, in vivo 
procedural sampling, and animal model creation for the MMPC-UCD. The Core accomplishes this through 
importation and acclimation of mice with minimal delay and reduced quarantine. The Core has access to and 
oversight of a dedicated in vivo Phenotyping Facility and associated state-of-the-art vivaria, including a high- 
containment “approved vendor-status” barrier vivarium. In addition, the Core has primary access to a new, 
UCD Gnotobiotic Mouse Research Center (GMRC). The Core provides numerous scientific support services 
as well, including rederivation and creation of genetically-modified mutant mice, re-animation of a variety of 
models cryopreserved within the KOMP or MMRRC repositories. These new and extant mouse models can 
then be bred to produce male and female cohorts for in vivo and in vitro phenotyping, including rederivation 
into the GMRC for gut microbiome studies. The Core also operates a Microsurgery Suite for creating 
surgically-manipulated mouse models, such as bariatric surgical models. The Core can produce for 
researchers cohorts of mice that have undergone Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) and Roux en Y Gastric 
Bypass (RYGB) bariatric procedures. Upon request from users, the Core can work with the other Phenotyping 
Cores to provide testing, manipulation, and sampling of these models. In addition, the Core can ship these 
surgically-manipulated models as well as any genetically-engineered mouse lines to requesting investigators 
from our approved vendor barrier vivarium, facilitating direct entry into the recipient institution's vivarium. This 
ensures minimal delay for investigators for receipt and use of these animal models at their institution. The 
Core also provides ancillary services and procedures, including blood sampling for in vivo testing for glucose 
tolerance tests and insulin tolerance tests, which are then sent to the Phenotyping Cores (e.g., Core C, 
Endocrinology and Metabolism Core) for analysis. The Core can also provide telemetry implantation and 
indwelling catheter placement for continuous blood sampling. The Core is supported by two trained laboratory 
animal veterinarians, three trained rodent surgical technicians, one import/export coordinator, and two 
phenotyping technicians. In these ways, the Animal Care Core is uniquely qualified to support the varied in 
vivo needs of MMPC-UCD users to meet their specific needs, from rapid importation and testing, genetically- 
engineered and genome-edited (Cas9) mouse lines, bariatric and other surgically-manipulated models, 
specialized housing under barrier conditions for direct shipping to investigators, and maintenance under 
gnotobiotic conditions for microbiome manipulation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9972931
- **Project number:** 5U2CDK092993-10
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** KRISTIN D EVANS
- **Activity code:** U2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $173,733
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9972931

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9972931, Animal Care Core (5U2CDK092993-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9972931. Licensed CC0.

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