In an effort to help address a national shortage of veterinarians certified to work with laboratory animals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has begun a new residency program in laboratory animal medicine. The program began in July of 2008 and combines 200 hours of academic coursework at Emory University’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center with 2,000 hours of hands-on experience in CDC’s high containment laboratories.
Washington State University (WSU) is planning a $57 million Agricultural Research Service research facility in Pullman. The project will house laboratories for the study of plant genetics, crop and animal diseases, and soil management. The project is part of a seven-building Sciences/Biotechnology complex that includes the $62-million Biotechnology/Life Sciences Facility and the $35 million School for Global Animal Health.
The University of North Carolina's $126 million Genetic Medicine Building will open in fall of 2008 in Chapel Hill. Housing the School of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy, and the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, the 333,000-sf facility will house the medical school's departments of biochemistry, pharmacology, and genetics. The project will include open laboratories, classrooms, offices, NMR, and vivaria. Ground was broken on the seven-story building in February 2005.
Bridge Laboratories will initiate construction by year-end 2008 on a 150,000-sf preclinical laboratory and vivarium facility in Beijing, China. Sited in the Zhongguancun Life Science Park adjacent to Bridge’s existing facility, the animal research facility will house Good Laboratory Practice immunology, toxicology, vaccine, and bioanalytical operations. Completion is expected by the fourth quarter of 2009. Housing one of the largest animal vivariums in China, the project will meet international and FDA laboratory standards.
The University of California, Riverside will begin construction in 2010 on a $508 million complex for its new medical school. Sited on 40 acres, the project includes two research and medical instruction facilities and a vivarium for animal research. The medical school will initially occupy a renovated building when it opens in 2012.
Tufts University is building the $25.9 million Regional Biocontainment Laboratory in North Grafton, Mass. Part of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the facility is funded in part by $19.35 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The 38,000-gsf facility is sited on 5.4 acres in the Grafton Science Park and will include 23,290-sf of mechanical and basement space.
The University of Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College opened its $20 million Research Complex in Charlottetown in July of 2008. The 5,300-sm building will house the Centre for Bioactive Valuation, the Centre for Comparative Biomedical Research, and the Lobster Science Centre. Providing 1,100 sm of additional research laboratories and a $3 million CL3 (containment level 3) facility, the project is part of $45 million in infrastructure improvements planned and under way at the veterinary college.
McLaughlin Research Institute broke ground on a $4.3 million expansion and renovation of its animal research facilities in Great Falls, Mont., in June of 2008. The project, comprised of a 6,000-sf, two-story addition and 13,000-sf of renovated space, will double mouse vivarium space and create additional laboratories.
North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is building the $72 million Randall B. Terry Jr. Companion Animal Medical Center in Raleigh. Housing small animal services including cardiology, internal medicine, neurology, emergency, critical care, surgery, and oncology, the 115,000-sf center will accommodate up to 25,000 cases a year.
The University of Arkansas opened the $2.4 million Leland Tollett Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Fayetteville on June 12, 2008. Housing disease testing for poultry, cows, horses, and other animals, the facility is operated jointly by the University’s Division of Agriculture and The Poultry Federation. The 7,365-sf diagnostic laboratory features a drive-through drop off window for poultry samples and a hydraulic lift for large animal transfer.
Atlantic Veterinary College of the University of Prince Edward Island is partnering with the province of New Brunswick to construct a $23.6 million aquatic animal health science laboratory in St. George, NB, Canada. Meeting national standards for fish health testing, the facility will support aquaculture research for the regions’ fishery industries. Housing necropsy, bacteriology, virology, and sample processing facilities, the 5,700-sf laboratory will be built by Castle Rock Construction Services of Saint John.
North Dakota State University broke ground on two agricultural research facilities in Fargo, N.D., on May 30, 2008. The $12 million Greenhouse Facility will house research in plant breeding, pathology, and nutrition to create higher yield crop varieties. The Beef Cattle Research Center will support research in animal nutrition and physiology, feed efficiencies, genetics, and food safety. The first phase of construction for the Beef Cattle Research Center will cost $1.6 million. Completion is expected in October of 2008.
Florida A&M University (FAMU) broke ground on its $1.2 million Animal Healthcare Facility in Quincy in May of 2008. Housing research facilities, a clinical lab, veterinary training facilities, and a technology center, the building will open in April of 2009.
Cornell University broke ground on the $80 million New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center in Ithaca in May of 2008. Slated for completion in late summer of 2010, the 126,000-gsf facility will house over 200 researchers, consolidating operations currently dispersed in 12 locations. The three-story building will house BSL-2 and BSL-3 labs, diagnostic labs, wet labs, and a state-of-the-art necropsy facility able to accommodate large animals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison broke ground on the $150 million Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in Madison on May 2, 2008. The 300,000-sf interdisciplinary biomedical research building will be comprised of four stories above ground and one below, and will house research offices, an atrium, and flexible dry, wet, and combination laboratories. The collaborative public-private research project will accommodate biotechnology, health science, nanotechnology, engineering, and stem cell research.
