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.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:

Federico Rey, Assistant Professor of Bacteriology

CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:

Richard Halberg, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

COLLABORATORS:

John Denu, Professor of Biomolecular Chemistry

Feyza Engin, Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Chemistry

Dudley Lamming, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Joshua Mezrich, Associate Professor of Surgery

JP Van Pijkeren, Assistant Professor of Food Sciences

Ophelia Venturelli, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry

Eric Yen, Associate Professor of Nutrition