U-M Launches New Animal Care & Use Faculty Advocacy Committee to Explore Ways to Reduce Administrative Burden

March 14, 2018

Animal Care & Use Faculty Advisory Committee announcement iconKeeping apprised of, let alone adhering to, the latest rules, regulations, policies, and guidelines governing animal care and use can feel burdensome. Protocol reviews may take too long, protocol questions may feel inconsistent or redundant, and additional documentation seems like it takes too much time to complete.

As a member of such a large research institution, you may feel like there are an endless number of requirements that slow your ability to conduct research while doing little to promote animal welfare.

We want you to know that we hear you!

That’s why the U-M Office of Research has partnered with Bill Greer, Assistant Vice President for Research – Animal Program Compliance Oversight and Director of the Animal Care & Use Office (ACUO) to launch the Animal Care & Use Faculty Advocacy Committee (ACU-FAC). Appointed by S. Jack Hu, U-M’s Vice President for Research, this Committee is charged with assessing and, where possible, mitigating the regulatory burden associated with animal care and use research processes at the University of Michigan.
 
The Committee is comprised of faculty members whose research portfolios include a variety of vertebrate animal activities across multiple disciplines.

Current committee members include: 

Hakam Tiba (Chair) Emergency Medicine tibam@med.umich.edu
Challice Bonifant Hematology/Oncology Pediatrics challice@umich.edu
Phil Hanna Microbiology/Immunology pchanna@umich.edu
Emily Jutkiewicz Pharmacology ejutkiew@umich.edu
Jason Knight Rheumatology jsknight@umich.edu
Daniel Leventhal Neurology dleventh@med.umich.edu
Benjamin Levi Surgery/Plastics/Burn blevi@med.umich.edu
Jean Nemzek ULAM Faculty Veterinarian jnemzek@umich.edu
Pamela Raymond MCDB/Professor Emerita praymond@umich.edu

 

Staff members from different units, including the ACUO, the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM), and the U-M research community, support the Committee by providing guidance and insight on which changes can and cannot be implemented based on current regulations.

Support staff include: 

Erin Czarniak Quality Assurance, ACUO leslieer@umich.edu
Lauren Danridge Associate Director, ACUO danridlm@umich.edu
Bill Greer Assistant VP Research –
Animal Program Compliance Oversight & Director, ACUO
wggreer@umich.edu
Justin Jones Emergency Medicine jcjones@umich.edu
Noel Ramsey PI Advocate, ACUO nbramsey@umich.edu
Zachary Freeman ULAM Faculty Veterinarian freemanz@umich.edu

 

Anyone with suggestions or concerns regarding areas of increased regulatory burden are strongly encouraged to reach out to Committee members and support staff for further discussion.
 
Ensuring that U-M scientists play an active role in enhancing and further developing our Animal Care & Use Program through refined practices that reduce administrative burden, while still achieving the highest animal welfare standards, is critical to the long-term success of our Program, and to the success of our researchers.

We look forward to your collaboration on this exciting and important new initiative!