This proposal requests $748,500 for the renovation of 8,300 gross square feet of building space to finish construction of an animal facility. These funds will be matched by an equal amount from the State of Ohio (25%) and University of Cincinnati (25%). The renovation will expand the undersized animal facility in a new research building, The Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, and builds upon our internationally recognized programs in transgenic and gene-targeted mouse models of human disease. The long-term goal is to provide state-of-the-art animal quarters for the animals used by our biomedical scientists to perform cutting-edge research in the neurosciences and cancer. The Vontz Center, which is currently under construction, will house 350 house 350 well-funded investigators and research staff, but has inadequate animal facilities. The building is not connected to, and distant from, the main research building that houses the majority of our unique animal models. Animal transport between the two facilities will cause increased operational costs, safety concerns and enhanced risk of contamination. In addition, an unprecedented upswing in our sponsored program funding (up 40% since 1996) and an equal increase in daily mouse census have brought our current facilities to capacity. The originally planned satellite facility in the Vontz Center cannot address the required increase in rodent holding capacity for continuing our research. The proposed renovation and expansion (14 holding rooms, 3 procedure rooms, and support services) will resolve the problems limiting our growth and allow our researchers to achieve excellence in two critically important areas of national health concern.