Cornell University recently celebrated the opening of the East Campus Research Facility (ECRF), the 79,000-square-foot consolidated animal research building five years in the making. The ECRF is expected to be fully operational by this fall. Located at the College of Veterinary Medicine on the Ithaca campus, the ECRF is noted to be one of the premier animal care and use facilities in North America and will be a key part of Cornell's US$600 million New Life Sciences Initiative, according to the University.

Together with animal facilities in Cornell's Life Sciences Technology Building currently under construction, this four-story building will enable researchers in various life science disciplines to help advance human and animal health through the safe, humane and judicious use of animals in research and teaching at Cornell. The ECRF features state-of-the-art cage-washing and storage rooms with strict safety protocols for preventing cross-contamination of about 45,000 mice and other animals, including chickens, woodchucks, rats, guinea pigs and hamsters. For information on the New Life Sciences Initiative at Cornell, visit www.lifesciences.cornell.edu.