Clara Christie Centre for Mouse Genomics

The 33,000-sf Clara Christie Centre for Mouse Genomics (CCCMG) at the University of Calgary—a centralized facility for the production and breeding of transgenic mice—expands mouse housing, provides procedure spaces for researchers, enables mouse transgenics production, and creates new space to phenotype the transgenic models.

Improvements include nine additional mouse holding rooms, each housing 960 individually ventilated cages, and expansion of the old facility’s holding area by 8,640 cages. An additional 1,200 sf dedicated to transgenics production and phenotyping technologies gives researchers room to work and allows the Centre to conduct new procedures and expand its client base across western Canada.

Located on the basement level of the Health Research Innovation Centre, CCCMG is a self-contained barrier unit separate from the other Animal Resource Centre facilities. A 24-hour card system tightly limits access to approved research personnel and staff.

To mitigate allergen and ergonomic risk to staff, the CCCMG incorporates a robotic cage dumping system, automated watering at the cage level, and clean and soiled bedding dispensing and handling systems. As a self-contained facility, it also includes storage, shipping/receiving, decontamination, washing, sterilizing, and fully equipped staff areas. Colors and textures for finishes and graphics provide bright, low-maintenance, non-slip surfaces, and easily identifiable way finding throughout CCCMG.

CCCMG is part of a comprehensive Animal Resource Centre that also includes the Mouse Double and Single Barrier units (some of whose mice moved into the new CCCMG) and the Mouse Halfway House, as well as conventional housing of other species, and a surgical facility.