July 28, 2016

Continuing to improve upon the humane and responsible care of animals, while also ensuring the health and safety of our program personnel, is crucial to our ongoing efforts to enhance the Animal Care & Use Program at the University of Michigan. To that end,
 
In order to allow adequate time for staff training and compliance, the new procedures will be implemented in two phases based on facility location:

Phase
Facilities
Implementation Date
I
MSRB, BSRB, Brehm, and the Cancer Center
August 15, 2016
II
LSI, Dental School, School of Public Health, and NCRC
September 15, 2016

Staff in each facility are expected to comply with, and will be held accountable for, all new procedures 30 days after their implementation date (i.e., all facilities in Phase I must be compliant by September 15, 2016 and all facilities in Phase II must be compliant by October 15, 2016). Failure to adhere to the new procedures after these dates will result in non-compliance notifications.
 
To ensure proper compliance, everyone who is, or will be, performing procedures that involve the handling of animals or animal equipment contaminated with hazardous agents must read this SOP in its entirety.
 
In order to help facilitate the implementation of these new and revised policies and procedures, several reminder emails will be sent to all affected personnel as the compliance deadlines approach. If you have any questions, please contact the ULAM Training Core at [email protected] or (734) 763-8039.


Latest Animal Care & Use Program Activities:
What Pokémon Go Can Teach Us About Safety and Security
in Animal Housing Facilities Facility.Security


Since its launch in early July, the new mobile gaming app Pokémon Go has exploded in popularity. Even if you don't play the game, you've likely seen its effects: screenshots on websites and social media, or an inordinate number of individuals wandering around campus looking for characters, to name a few.

With hundreds of stops all across Ann Arbor, including both U-M's main campus and medical campus, this is an opportune time to revisit the guidelines that are in place to help keep both our staff and animals safe and secure:

1.
Access to animal housing facilities - In general, access to animal housing areas and training sessions involving animals is limited to those individuals affiliated with U-M who have a specific business purpose for being there. Visits by non-U-M individuals to any areas where animals may be present should be planned well in advance and approved by the Animal Security Coordination Group. Visitors should be accompanied by a credentialed U-M employee at all times during the visit and should obey all safety requirements (goggles, gloves, lab coats, etc.) and security considerations (no "tailgating" through doorways or propping doors).
2.
Be careful with visuals - Always keep in mind that groups opposing animal research constantly seek images, video clips, and information that they can use to advance their cause -- and that they have been known to take these materials out of context, or even actively misrepresent or distort them to depict universities and researchers in a bad light. If you must take a photo for research or academic purposes while in an animal housing area, please be mindful of your surroundings. Specific photos that should NOT be included on public websites (such as your lab site or social media) include:
  • Images that depict animals undergoing surgical procedures or tests
  • Dead animals, or animals whose movement is limited, or that could be interpreted as being in distress
When in doubt, consult with our program experts (inquiries can be sent to [email protected]) on any communications and/or photography concerns involving animals in research and teaching. They can escalate questions to a broader team of animal research oversight leaders for further guidance.
3.
Remain vigilant at all times - It's always important to remember that, although our campus is very public, we do a lot of sensitive work and sometimes there are people who enter our buildings with an intent to do harm or to find out critical information. If you suspect that someone has gained improper access to any area where animals are present, or to the offices of faculty/staff involved in animal research work, contact U-M's Division of Public Safety & Security (DPSS) at (734) 763-1131. Remember, "If You See Something, Say Something."

Additional resources that can also be helpful to review:
Our Animal Care & Use Program is available to assist you and your staff with everything from simple media inquiries to possible threats to health and safety. If you would like more information, or have any concerns, please contact us at [email protected] .
Use Category Changes Aim to Relieve Administrative Burden Use.Categories 

 
In an effort to help relieve administrative burden on Principal Investigators and their labs, the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) recently transitioned to a Use Category (UC) scale. In addition to simplifying protocol processes, this transition more closely aligns University of Michigan practices with those of other peer institutions and addresses feedback given by the AAALAC Council on Accreditation.
 
What Are the Changes?
  • Animal Protocols for ALL species will now use a letter scale of Use Categories C, D, and E to define requested authorized numbers. This is consistent with the USDA's Animal Use Categories. The previous 1-9 scale will map to the new letter scale as follows:
    • Use Categories 1-2 = C
    • Use Categories 3-6 = D
    • Use Categories 7-9 = E
  • Animal Usage for USDA species will be reported and calculated based on the appropriate USDA Use Category C/2, D/3, or E/7 definitions.
  • Animal Usage for non-USDA species will be classified as a single category moving forward.
How Are the Changes Being Implemented?  
The Animal Care & Use (ACU) Office has begun to manually transition approved protocols, and will continue to do so, over the next several months. Changes are being addressed as follows:
  • New protocols (applications currently in the approval process, newly created applications, new renewal applications, or newly copied protocols on or after
    July 11, 2016) will exclusively use the new C-E UC scale.
  • Currently approved protocols (as of July 11, 2016) will initially use the 1-9 UC scale and will be manually transitioned to the new C-E UC scale by the ACU Office over the next several months.
  • Expired or cancelled protocols (prior to July 11, 2016) will remain with the
    1-9 UC scale.
What Can Study Teams Expect?
Study Teams should be minimally impacted during this transition, with the key changes being mainly visual in nature. Due to the nature of the changes, forms untouched in eRAM were cancelled to allow transition of the Use Categories. This includes:
  • Amendments untouched for more than 60 days
  • Animal Use Forms untouched for more than 30 days
A complete overview of the visual changes can be reviewed on the eRAM Changes to Use Categories page .
 
Throughout the transition, please be advised that the ACU Office may need to contact you with specific questions about your protocol(s). Once the transition is complete, teams should notice a relief of some administrative burden pertaining to protocol processing, maintenance, and reporting.
 
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the ACU Office. 
Mike Ream Named New Research Compliance Associate Mike.Ream 


The Animal Care & Use Office is pleased to announce that Mike Ream has been appointed as a Research Compliance Associate. In this new role, Mike will aid Principal Investigators (Last Name M-S) and laboratory staff with shepherding their animal use protocols through the eRAM system, provide guidance on how to remain compliant with policies and procedures, assist with facility inspections, and ensure that our investigators feel supported in their research and commitment to humane and responsible animal care and use.
 
Mike joined the Animal Care & Use Office in early 2016, where he has been responsible for assisting with Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) meetings, final review of animal use applications, and semi-annual IACUC, AAALAC, USDA, and OLAW site visits. Prior to his role(s) with the Animal Care & Use Office, Mike served as both an Animal Care Technician and an Animal Care Supervisor with the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine at the University of Michigan.
 
Please join us in congratulating Mike on this new role. 
Next Training Requirement Deadline is Friday, August 19 Aug19.Training


Principal Investigators (PIs) with last names beginning in N-Z are required by the IACUC to complete the online MLearning course ULAM-60000 Orientation for Animal Care and Use Refresher by Friday, August 19.
 
Department Chairs will be notified of any PIs in this group with incomplete training on Friday, August 5. On August 19, any remaining non-compliant PIs will be subject to IACUC review and suspension of protocols.
 
If you have already completed this training, no further action is required. To complete your training today, login to MLearning at https://trainingportal.med.umich.edu . Self-help steps for using MLearning are available here.
 
If you have any questions, or would like additional assistance, please contact the ULAM Training Core at (734) 763-8039 or [email protected].
 
The next training requirement deadline is on September 18 for Staff (ALL Laboratory Personnel) with last names beginning in A-I. Don't delay, complete your training today! 
When Was the Last Time You Checked Your Drugs? Expired.Drugs 


Administration of expired drugs can adversely affect animals; therefore, expired anesthetics, analgesics, and euthanasia drugs must NOT BE USED for ANY experimental or veterinary procedure.
 
The Animal Care & Use Office strongly recommends that each laboratory establish its own method and routine for reviewing the expiration dates of all of its drugs, and to properly dispose of any expired agents on a regular basis. A new reminder flyer to print
and post in your area is also available here (PDF download).
 
Questions?
For questions about proper drug disposal, contact the U-M department of Occupational Safety & Environmental Health (OSEH) at [email protected] or (734) 763-4568.
 
Learn more about U-M's Expired Drug Policy or contact the Animal Care & Use Office at [email protected] for more information.
Animal Research Spotlight Animal.Research.Spotlight

 
Since the 1950s, animal studies have shown that pretreatment of the gut with antibiotics before trauma or other critical illness can protect against lung injury and death. As part of their recently published findings in Nature Microbiology, U-M researchers have concluded that critical illness involving the lungs has more to do with disruptions to the body's natural population of microbes, or microbiome, than previously thought.  Though additional study is needed, the team's discovery that bacteria that normally live in the gut can be detected in the lungs of critically ill people and animals could ultimately change the care of intensive care patients. Read more .
For more information about the Animal Care & Use Program  at the University of Michigan,  CLICK HERE .
Our mission in the Animal Care & Use Office is to support the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee, fostering sustained excellence in animal care and use in scientific research and education, and promoting the philosophy that the highest animal welfare standards are necessary for impactful science.