The Animal Care & Use Program is pleased to announce the 2026 winners of the Excellence in Research Animal Care & Use Award.
Established in 2019, this awards program celebrates staff excellence in the humane care and use of animals within the University of Michigan (U-M) research community.
Kate Clifton – 2026 Animal Care & Use Award Winner
Kate Clifton, Animal Care Supervisor for the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM), was named winner of the 2026 Animal Care & Use Program Excellence in Research Award for her outstanding contributions to outreach and education.
Kate leads with care and compassion for the animals and people under her purview. She is responsible for overseeing the husbandry care of mice and rats, but also uncommon species like leopard geckos, aquatic frogs, dart frogs, zebrafish, and more. She also assists the U-M research community on many fronts, including developing SOPs and guidelines, working individually with new lab members, training and educating staff at the intersection of optimal animal care and successful research outcomes, and collaborating on research projects.
Her diligence as well as kindness and care for both animals and staff led to her nomination. Kate is known for her leadership skills that advocate for – and empower – the people she works with, her innovative approach to optimizing husbandry care, and collaborative spirit.
“Kate’s compassion and support not only for her staff and the researchers, but also for the animal welfare program she has helped develop, makes her a truly remarkable and rare leader in animal welfare. Kate exemplifies what it means to care for the people and animals around her,” noted Travis Stein, RLATG, ILAM, Assistant Director of Husbandry Operations for ULAM. “Her advocacy for the people who care for the animals directly correlates to the welfare those people provide. In addition, Kate’s ability to collaborate with others has made her the individual who has developed our program to be able to provide care for multiple different, non-conventional species. Kate is a leader in animal welfare.”
Thank you for leading with care, collaboration, and empathy! We are lucky to have you leading animal welfare and education in our Program.
Nicole Migotsky – 2026 Research Community Winner
Nicole Migotsky, PhD, lab manager and animal care coordinator for the Killian and Abraham Labs in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, was named winner of the 2026 Animal Care & Use Program Excellence in Research Award for her innovative and collaborative approach to ensuring animal welfare.
Nicole is an active member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and a 2023 graduate of the Laboratory Animal Research Care and Compliance (LARCC) Program. She serves as a model for exceptional animal care through developing new and reproducible protocols for longitudinal imaging of tendons, reducing the need for animals while improving data collection. Combined with her efforts to share unused tissues with other laboratories at U-M and around the world, Nicole has directly minimized the replication of hundreds of mice.
“Nicole works closely to ensure that all trainees in our laboratory, from undergraduates to postdocs, are complying and appropriately handling animals before moving to independence, and she takes great care to ensure animal care is followed in the most ethical and responsible way,” said Megan Killian, PhD, Principal Investigator and Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. “She also thinks deeply [about] ways to maximize use of individual animals, including developing new approaches for repeated measurements and minimization of pain without impacting our rigorous research goals, and I find her thought and care in this area to be exceptionally rewarding.”
Congratulations, Nicole! We are thrilled to celebrate your commitment to ethical animal care and the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement).