Following the Portuguese Law (Decreto Lei nº 113/2013), all research projects that use vertebrate animal models require previous approval by a National Entity, which in Portugal is the Direção Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária (DGAV). These projects must also be approved by the IGC ORBEA (Orgão Responsável pelo Bem-Estar dos Animais). Therefore, the Responsible Investigators of projects that involve the use of vertebrates must enroll in a submission process that starts with a pre-submission step to the Animal Welfare Officer of the IGC.

Space to run research projects. Availability provided upon inquire. Technical feasibility must be assessed (specific equipment availability, biosafety conditions, etc).

Mutant strains can be housed, breed and maintained, following researchers needs and instructions.

Importation and exportation processes of embryos and adult mice are centralized by the Facility.

Quarantine service for all imported animals.

Assisted Reproduction Services for reseting the health status for resident colonies or after importation of new strains (Re-derivation), to revitalize cryopreserved lines (Revitalization), and to rescue poor breeding performance colonies (Strain rescue).

Embryo and sperm cryopreservation services, of diverse genetic backgrounds.

This platform provides rederivation to axenic conditions, production of Germ-Free (GF) C57BL/6 mice, support to researchers with access to organs, tissues and biofluids from GF mice, and technical expertise for running gnotobiology experiments.

Access to a sofisticated metabolic cage-system and temperature-controlled chambers. The Manager of this resource provides close support for the researchers to ensure full optimization of the system (experiment setup; follow-up and data retrieval).

Dedicated animal room to run experiments with BSL-2 agents.

Dedicated animal room to run experiments with BSL-3 agents.

Practical training and research support, and organization of formal LAS courses through the CONGENTO Education and Training group.