WVU receives $14.5 million in federal funding for new animal facility annex

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – West Virginia University has received more than $14.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for the construction of a new animal research facility annex at West Virginia University (WVU). The funding is being made available as a research facilities construction grant within the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Center for Research Resources.

    WVU will use the funds to construct a 22,000-square-foot building, adjacent to the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, to meet the infrastructure needs of current and future biomedical researchers who use laboratory animals. The new facility will include modern animal housing space, with independent air handling and other biosafety features. The grant will help the Health Sciences Center (HSC) move forward with a long-term strategic plan for developing research facilities and expanding research programs in cancer, neurosciences and other areas of biomedical research.

    It complements the new laboratory space that has already been constructed on campus, including the Erma Byrd Biomedical Research Center, completed in 2008. The new vivarium will provide current and future researchers with a core facility for animal-related activities. The building is the second phase of a project to replace the HSC’s original animal quarters, built in 1957, which are inadequate to meet modern standards for the care and use of research animals. The first phase is currently under construction.

    According to WVU officials the new facility is expected to result in 253 additional permanent jobs on the WVU campus, including 13 directly in the animal quarters and 240 in biomedical research laboratories around the Health Sciences Center. During construction, the project will add 113 jobs to the local community.