Animal Facility
Overview
The laboratory animal facility encompasses over 25,722 sq. ft. of dedicated animal space in several buildings on our La Jolla campus. The animal facility provides housing for specific pathogen free (SPF) rodents and Zebrafish. Trained animal care technicians provide expertise in animal husbandry, transgenic and knockout mouse breeding colony maintenance and assistance with routine technical procedures.
Our animal research program is accredited by AAALAC International (the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International. Participating in the AAALAC accreditation program and meeting their rigorous standards demonstrates our commitment to humane and responsible animal research and our dedication to good science.
Services
Boarding
Boarding animals for outside users may be approved by Sanford Burnham Prebys IACUC on a case-by-case basis. Animals must be shipped directly from an approved commercial breeder facility. Please call or email the Animal Facility Director at (858) 795-5319, email Mary Braxtan, to discuss your animal housing needs. Access to the animal facility may be restricted to Monday through Friday, 7:30am-3:30pm. Husbandry services include cage changing, cage sanitation, feeding standard diets, water bottle exchange, daily health checks. Breeding colony services are also included in the cage per diem rate, and include breeder set-up, weaning of litters, ear notch identification, tissue collection for genotyping, breeding colony database management and colony maintenance.
Technical Procedures
Trained animal technicians are available to assist researchers with routine technical procedures. Assistance with procedures must be scheduled in advance through the Training Manager, Buddy Charbono. Assistance is available Monday through Friday, 8:00am-3:00pm.
Technical Procedure Services Include:
- Feeding of special diets and supplemental diets: (research lab must supply all special diets)
- Drug administration and additives to water bottles: (research lab must supply water additives, including antibiotics, chemicals and drugs)
- Cell and animal irradiations: schedule procedure using iLab
- Oral gavage/dosing
- Injections: SC, IP, IV, IM, ID
- Weighing animals
- Surgery pre- and post-op care: (surgery set-up, anesthesia, recovery monitoring, fluid administration)
- Imaging and Analysis: (see the Animal Imaging & Analysis core for imaging instruments and services)
- Blood collection: variable routes
Equipment & Resources
General Equipment
- Oxycycler (BioSpherix, Ltd.)
Atmosphere control system with full range oxygen control (0.1% to 99.9%) and/or CO2 control (0.1% to 20.0%) as well as other bioactive gas control such as CO, NO, and O3. Hypoxia stress can model components of many severe diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, asthma, epilepsy, sleep apnea, or pulmonary infections. - Anesthesia machines
- Cage changing stations and biosafety hoods
- Stoelting Stereotaxic instrument: frame and microinjection equipment: for performing injections into precise locations in the CNS.
- Metabolism cages: Four individual cages for monitoring nutrient input and waste output.
Motor and Sensory Analysis
- Hotplate Analgesia Meter (San Diego Instruments)
The SDI Hotplate Analgesia Meter performs rapid, precise screening of the effects of narcotic type analgesic drugs (morphine, codeine, etc.) in test subjects. - Animal Treadmill (Columbus Instruments)
Measure mouse locomotor coordination for fear of falling experiments. 6 lanes with shocker for mice. - 5 Station Rota-Rod Treadmill (Med Associates)
ENV-575M USB-mouse. Measure motor coordination and fatigue. - Grip-strength Device
Price List
For a Price List, please call (858) 795-5319 or email us.
Leadership
Mary O’Rourke-Braxtan
Director, Animal Resources
Alessandra Sacco, PhD
Scientific Director
Buddy Charbono
Compliance and Training Manager
Contact
Please call (858) 795-5319 or use the button below to send us an email.