Animal Research

Montana State University began construction on the $16 million Animal Bioscience building in Bozeman in September of 2008. The three-story, 40,000-sf facility will house classrooms, research laboratories, and a teaching lab for anatomy, physiology, animal nutrition, and genetics. A technology transfer room will provide interactive video capabilities allowing information to be shared throughout the state. The project broke ground in June of 2008 with completion slated for 2010. The facility is being constructed by Swank Enterprises of Valier, Mont.

The University of Texas at Brownsville is planning to construct the $34 million Biomedical Research Laboratories + Community Sciences Building. Comprised of a biomedical research building and a general classroom facility connected by a courtyard, the project is designed by SHW Group of Dallas with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant.

Montana State University dedicated the Jutila Research Laboratory and the Johnson Family Livestock Facility in August of 2008. The $2.5 million, 3,500-sf Jutila Research Lab accommodates BSL-3 infectious disease research. The $3.4 million, 7,500-sf Johnson Family Livestock Facility will support BSL-2 large animal veterinary research.

The University of Queensland opened the $33 million Centre for Advanced Animal Science (CAAS) on its Gatton campus in September of 2008. The biocontainment facility will house laboratories for disease and vaccine research, group and individual animal pens, and cattle handling facilities. The project was designed by S2F and built by McNab Constructions. CAAS is a joint venture of the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will dedicate the National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center (NBACC) on October 22, 2008. Part of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., NBACC will support biological threat characterization and bioforensic research. The 160,000-sf lab will employ approximately 120 people and will include a vivarium and BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories.

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.