Animal Core

The NBC Small Animal Core (SAC) is available for research with animal models of category A-C priority agents. The core consists of a BSL-3 animal facility for small animals at Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) - University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ), Newark, NJ. Facilities for large animals and non-human primates may be available in the future. The Animal Core’s research staff provides expertise in bacterial and viral animal models, including aerosol challenge. The goal of the core is to support the research objectives of NBC scientists including studies on pathogenesis, host response, vaccine efficacy, novel therapeutics and improved diagnostics. 

The International Center for Public Health’s and UMDNJ’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee has reviewed/approved over 140 Animal Care and Use Protocols and has approved 143 amendments since July 2004 to authorize infectious disease studies at PHRI. The SAC continues to operate at high capacity and has logged over 1 million animal housing days for ABSL-3 studies. Presently, the Core provides rodent infection models for pneumonic and bubonic plague, anthrax, tularemia, glanders, 2009 pandemic influenza, Vaccinia virus and MDR/XDR/drug sensitive tuberculosis. Studies to examine avian influenza H5N1 in mice and ferrets will be started in January 2012. Furthermore, studies are in development for other emerging pathogens such as Chikungunya virus and multidrug resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Aerosol and upper respiratory tract infections are an area of expertise and include models for Y. pestis, M. tuberculosis, B. anthracis, F. tularensis, B. mallei, Influenza virus and Aspergillus. The Core has nose-only aerosol exposure systems for mice and rabbits. Intranasal instillations are routinely performed in mice and hamsters. The UMDNJ Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) adjoins the existing PHRI Research Animal Facility opened on July 2010. The RBL ABSL3 provides an additional 9,000 gross square feet of dedicated animal procedure and housing space for BSL3 studies. The RBL is approved for Select Agent studies from the USDA and CDC. The SAC also supports animal studies with infected mosquitoes and ticks for vector-borne disease research in the RBL ABSL-3 insectary.

NBC members interested in using the animal core may contact:

David Perlin, PhD
Director of Animal Core
PHRI
perlin@phri.org
(973) 854-3200

or

Steven Park

Operating Director, Animal Core

parkst@umdnj.edu

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