Website - Animal Physiology Core

Contact -
Dr. Maria S. Johnson
mariajoh@uab.edu
205-934-4008

The core provides in vivo body composition assessment for a variety of small animals using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, quantitative magnetic resonance and micro-computed tomography.  Direct analysis of carcasses can also be performed on mice and rats using chemical extraction. The core has a mouse phenotyping set up for the measurement of oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, locomotor activity (via infra-red beam breaks) and food intake. Total and resting energy expenditure,  as well as substrate utilization, can then be calculated. Surgical services can be provided for intracerebroventricular cannulations into the lateral ventricle for measuring responses to exogenously administered compounds. In conjunction with the ICV injections, detailed feeding studies can be performed allowing for the measurement of food intake every 30 seconds. The Core has recently established an Aquatic Animal Research Core to facilitate research using important aquatic animal models, including zebrafish and killifish. The Core offers the ability to rear these model organisms in a defined environment, and is the only facility in the U.S. that offers custom diets of chemically-defined ingredients and nutrients for evaluation of the effects of specific nutrients, nutraceuticals, drugs, toxicants, or combinations thereof.

Center Affiliation -
Comprehensive Diabetes Center

Grant Affiliation -
NIH P60DK079626

Serves - UAB Internal and External