Center of Comparative Medicine & Pathology

The Center of Comparative Medicine and Pathology (CCMP) supports animal model use in cancer research through teams including the Research Animal Resource Center (RARC) and the Laboratory of Comparative Pathology (LCP). Given the size and scope of this Center, it also includes an Administrative, Financial and Information Services (AFIS) Core. At MSK, animal models are used extensively in basic and applied investigational studies. Animals are employed in the development of new methods for diagnosis and treatment of cancer as well as the elucidation of the basic biological mechanisms resulting in neoplasia. CCMP’s professional and paraprofessional staff (152 FTE) serve as a consultative and technical resource for MSK investigators on all matters related to animal research. RARC is comprised of five sections: (1) Husbandry and Operations (H&O); (2) Veterinary Services (VS); (3) Education and Quality Assurance (EQA); (4) Specialized Services (SS) (including Colony Management, Aquatics Systems and Services, and Gnotobiotics); and (5) Biosecurity. RARC provides housing for and humane care to approximately 150,000 animals daily, utilized by the laboratories of 132 principal investigators. RARC’s oversight of MSK’s Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC)-accredited, centrally managed, animal care program ensures the efficient use of available space and staff resources and allows for close professional monitoring of the animal research program. RARC’s H&O section operates two specialized state-of-the-art facilities encompassing ~73,700 net square feet of space that provide critical environments and the specialized equipment necessary for the maintenance and use of a variety of animal models. VS’s staff ensures that all animals receive appropriate clinical care and performs technical procedures for research staff. QA administers an extensive educational program that provides training to animal care and research staff via didactic and hands-on sessions, web-based tutorials, as well as written instructional materials. Within SS, Colony Management provides breeding and genotyping of unique genetically engineered mouse lines; Aquatics Systems and Services provides housing, husbandry, life support system maintenance and professional services for laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio); and Gnotobiotics provides the resources and skills needed for generating and maintaining axenic and gnotobiotic mice. Biosecurity ensures that MSK’s rodent colonies remain pathogen-free by routinely surveying colony health and quarantining incoming rodents from vendors. The LCP, a multidisciplinary pathology laboratory, and its Genetically Engineered Animal (GEA) Phenotyping Service, support individual laboratory’s research and RARC’s programs by providing clinical and anatomic pathology services and extensive phenotypic profiles of GEA.