Laboratory Animal Core Facility
The Laboratory animal core facility forms a part of the Biomedical technology complex at BMC, and it has been designed and built in collaboration with international experts with the aim to follow the standards for modern experimental animal facility. The facility opened the doors in the middle of 2016 and it serves as a platform enabling scientists to bring their research further into in vivo models.
The main area within the facility is specific pathogen free (SPF) – within the 180 m2 of SPF are, there are several functionally and microbiologically isolated units – i.e., quarantine, separate animal housing rooms for mice and rats/hamsters, immunologically deficient/compromised and transgenic mice, and separate ABSL3 room complex for the work with infectious models. All the animal housing rooms have adjacently located procedure/surgery rooms. Within the SPF area, rodents are housed exclusively in individually ventilated cages (IVCs). Outside the SPF area, there is a conventional open cage room for non-SPF rodent housing and an adjacent procedure room.
The necessary level of biocontainment and bioexclusion within the facility is ensured by IVCs, pass-through autoclaves, automated cage washer, air shower, BLS2 level laminar hoods and cage changing stations, hydrogen peroxide vaporiser as well as specialised and HEPA filter controlled regulated ventilation system. The microbiological monitoring of rodents is performed by certified laboratories according to FELASA recommendations.
The video of the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre Biomedical Technology complex:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHugKhDdLLY&feature=emb_title
Zane Kalniņa, PhD
Head of the Laboratory animal core facility, Senior Researcher
Personnel
Zane Kalniņa, PhD, zane.kalnina@biomed.lu.lv
Phone: +371 26112733
Facility management. Animal Welfare body (head). Contract research.
Dace Skrastiņa, PhD, dace.skrastina@biomed.lu.lv
Phone: +371 25137484
Researcher support. Contract research.
Laila Silamiķele, Mg. biol., laila.silamikele@biomed.lu.lv
Phone: +371 26 111 485
Researcher support
Madara Kreišmane, Mg.med.vet., madara.kreismane@biomed.lu.lv
Phone: +371 24001218
Designated veterinarian
Provided services
- Mice, rat and hamster housing in individually ventilated cages (Tecniplast) in compliance with relevant EU animal welfare rules
- Surgery rooms and equipment (isoflurane anaesthesia system, intraoperative physiological monitoring system etc.)
- Quarantine
- Designated rooms for immunodeficient and transgenic mice housing and procedures/surgery (individually ventilated cages, BLS2 laminar flow cabinet, isoflurane anaesthesia system etc.)
- Designated ABSL3 rooms for housing and procedures/surgery for mouse models for infectious diseases (individually ventilated cages, BLS2 laminar flow cabinet, isoflurane anaesthesia system, dedicated autoclave etc.)
- Consulting of scientific personnel on the planning of procedures involving laboratory animals
- Training of scientific personnel for the work with laboratory rodents
- In vivo 3D bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging with IVIS Spectrum System (PerkinElmer)
- Contract research