A Germ-free Mouse Facility for the UW–Madison Community

The interactions of microbial communities within mammals have a profound impact on their anatomy, physiology, behavior and susceptibility to disease. Germ-free mice provide a powerful in vivo controlled model system to dissect these interactions.

In 2014, the Principal Investigator started a germ-free facility that meets the needs of his laboratory and a limited number of collaborators. This resource is critical for his program and for anybody else interested in basic and medically-oriented microbiome research, but requests for germ-free animals greatly exceed the facility’s capabilities. Importantly, it is becoming an essential resource to compete efficiently for NIH funding in the field.

This project funds creation of a germ-free facility that will provide services for the whole UW-Madison community. It proposes a partnership with Laboratory Animal Research (LAR) within the School of Medicine and Public Health to build and manage a facility that meets the needs of the campus.