Comparative Medicine Program
The Comparative Medicine Program provides the infrastructure (facilities, scientists, and research personnel) required to conduct animal studies. The support is provided through facilities of the Friedberg campus and the Bowman Gray campus.
Investigators, technical and professional staff, and research fellows have offices and laboratories at both facilities. The professional staff provides expertise in laboratory animal medicine and veterinary pathology. Several investigators also provide the Medical Center with professional services required by state, federal, and institutional regulations. Board certified veterinarians in the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and two veterinarians certified by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists are on staff.
The Comparative Medicine Clinical Research Center (CMCRC) consists of 27 buildings located on a 200-acre campus (Friedberg) 10 miles south of Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The mission of the CMCRC is to conduct research using animals, particularly nonhuman primates, to gain insight into human health and disease. The major research emphasis of the CMCRC is currently on disease of aging women, including coronary artery atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, and Alzheimer's disease. The effect of postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy on the pathogenesis of these diseases is of particular interest. Investigators direct studies funded from both public and private sector sources.
The CMCRC provides for nonhuman primate research as well as ovariectomized rat models as recommended by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for preclinical and clinical evaluation of agents used in the treatment or prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis (1994).
The CMCRC laboratories follow Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). These laboratories include: in vivo Clinical Laboratories (for clinical observations and aseptic surgery), the Clinical Pathology Laboratory (hematology, clinical chemistry, and specialized assays), the Histology Laboratories (histopathology, objective histomorphometry, decalcified or mineralized specimens, immunocytochemistry, and in situ hybridization), bone densitometry and imaging laboratories (Norland-XR26 bone densitometer (DEXA), Hologic QDR1500 DEXA, Norland Stratec SCT 960A and 3000A quantitative computed tomography (QCT) systems, and Data Management (support via VAX system with data back-up for statistical analysis, quality control, etc)).
The Transgenic Animal Facility occupies 5,605 square feet and is located on the south end of the 6th floor of the Nutrition Center research building. This location provides easy access to researchers of the Bone and Joint Center. The facility includes: animal holding rooms, support space, and animal surgery facilities. The design provides maximum flexibility while meeting the special needs of transgenic technology. Fourteen holding rooms, five procedure rooms, injection lab, cage-wash facility equipped with a tunnel washer and autoclave, HEPA filtered cage change station; and three individual storage rooms for cages, food and bedding. Wake Forest University School of Medicine is one of the few universities providing a facility devoted to transgenic work. These research capabilities facilitate interaction between the Comparative Medicine Program and other programs of the Bone and Joint Center.