ASU VIVARIA DESCRIPTIONS

The following descriptions are provided to make it easier for investigators to produce the animal facility descriptions that are sometimes required for grant proposals. Please contact the DACT office (965-6152) or email any DACT office staff member if you need further assistance.

Program Overview

Animals are maintained in University facilities (5 vivaria) fully accredited by AAALACi (Unit #000765) and registered with the USDA APHIS (Registration #86-R-0002). An assurance is on file with the Office for Laboratory Animal Welfare (#A3217-01). Animal husbandry programs and protocol review are in compliance with NIH and USDA standards. Dr. Dale DeNardo, D.V.M., Ph.D., is Director of the Department of Animal Care and Technologies and the University Attending Veterinarian. Dr. DeNardo, in conjunction with Dr. Seth Nydam, Clinical Veterinarian, oversees the animal health surveillance programs, disease diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. Drs. DeNardo and Nydam, with a staff of AALAS-certified technicians, provide guidance in model selection and protocol development, as well as training in procedures and techniques. Veterinary care and oversight is provided 24/7.

Biodesign Institute Building B (ASU Building 104B)

The Biodesign Building B vivarium, commissioned in January 2006, contains 30,406 sq. ft. with a 2,500 sq. ft. ABSL3 suite. The below ground facility has approximately 11,000 sq. ft. of animal holding and procedural space plus 6800 sq. ft. of support space, including a non-human primate suite and isolation cubicles. Equipment includes a tunnel washer, rack washer, 2 bulk/walk-through autoclaves, one pass-through autoclave, a fully-equipped survival surgical suite, a necropsy room, a GLP suite, and a Xenogen rodent imaging room. Environmental monitoring for the entire vivarium is at the room level and is provided by ASU’s Building Automation Systems, which is monitored 24/7.

The Biodesign Institute is classified as a high-security facility. The main entry areas on the first floor are staffed 24 hours per day with security guards. Elevator access to the floor containing the vivarium requires a pre-approved and pre-programmed ASU-issued key card. A key card is also required to enter the vivarium and, once in the vivarium, enter sub-areas of the vivarium such as the surgical suite, the ABSL3 facility, and some suites of animal holding rooms. The building also has a secured loading dock/receiving area. Investigator laboratories are located on upper floors of the building. The Biodesign vivarium has complete emergency and back-up power via a diesel-powered generator.

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 1 (ASU Bldg 108)

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 1 (ISTB1), commissioned in 2006, is a 13,080 sq. ft vivarium located in the north half of the basement of this building. The facility is organized in a conventional arrangement, and has eight (8) animal holding rooms, five (5) isolation cubicles, a cagewash area, and two procedure rooms. The cagewash area has separate clean and dirty sides and includes a central cage processing unit, a large pass-through bulk autoclave, a rack and bottle washer, and a bottle filling station with an acid proportioner. One of the procedures room has a hard-ducted necropsy table and a hard-ducted biosafety cabinet (BSC). Environmental monitoring for the entire vivarium is at the room level and is provided by ASU’s Building Automation Systems, which is monitored 24/7.

There is a secure elevator requiring an ASU-issued key card to exit at the level that contains the vivarium, and a key card is again required to enter the vivarium. The building also has a secured loading dock/receiving area.

ISTB1 power is fed from Arizona Public Service (APS) to the ASU Cogen Plant (CHP). In the event APS cannot feed power, CHP turbines would deliver power to ISTB1, thus providing a secondary source of power. There is also a diesel-powered generator for this facility providing emergency and back-up power.

Life Sciences Building B (ASU Bldg 56B)

The Life Sciences Building B (LSB) is a 6,296 sq. ft. 2-story vivarium designed with a conventional single-corridor system. The first floor has a dedicated cage processing area with a rack washer and pass-through autoclave, loading dock/receiving area, procedure space, and six (6) animal holding rooms. The second floor has seven (7) animal holding rooms, procedure space, and an additional suite of 3 rooms which can be used for animal housing or procedure space. The vivarium is connected to the other buildings within the Life Sciences complex, where investigator labs are, via a fully enclosed corridor on the second floor and a partially enclosed corridor on the first floor.

An ASU-issued key card is required to access the vivarium and also individual animal holding rooms. A building-specific alarm system provides after-hours security. Environmental monitoring for the entire vivarium is at the room level and is provided by ASU’s Building Automation Systems, which is monitored 24/7. This facility is provided with emergency and back-up power via a diesel-powered generator.

Life Sciences Building D (ASU Bldg 56D)

Life Sciences Building D (LSD) is a 2,492 sq. ft. aquatic/terrestrial vivarium that houses birds, reptiles (lizards, snakes), amphibians (frogs), fish, and invertebrates. Two rooms on the second floor (within a greenhouse) are used to house wild birds for investigators requiring natural light. An ASU-issued key card is required to enter the facility. A building-specific alarm system provides for after-hours security. LSD is connected to the Life Sciences Building B and research laboratories in the Life Sciences complex via a partially enclosed corridor at the first floor level. The first floor of the facility is provided with emergency and back-up power via a natural gas generator.

Psychology Building (ASU Bldg 13)

The Psychology Building vivarium, renovated in 2015, is located on the 8,120 sq. ft. third floor of this building. The vivarium has six (6) animal holding rooms, an ABSL2 suite, a surgical suite, a necropsy room, isolation and quarantine areas, and considerable behavioral testing space. Equipment includes a pass-through cage and rack washer, pass-through autoclave, and bottle filler. Investigator laboratories are located on the third floor adjacent to the vivarium.

An ASU-issued key card is required to access the vivarium. Environmental monitoring for the entire vivarium is at the room level and is provided by ASU’s Building Automation Systems, which is monitored 24/7. The facility is provided with emergency and back-up power via a diesel-powered generator.

1