Announcements

AAALAC

U-M Receives Full AAALAC Accreditation

A Message from the Animal Care & Use Program Leadership Team We are pleased to announce that the University of Michigan has received full continued accreditation from AAALAC International. In the notification letter that we received on November 30, the AAALAC Council commended staff at all levels of our institution for the tremendous amount of ...
AAALAC 2020 Site Visit Logo - Continued Excellence Takes Continued Dedication

Winner of Inaugural Excellence in Research Animal Care & Use Award Announced

The Animal Care & Use Program is pleased to announce that Hadrian Kinnear, a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program, is the recipient of the inaugural Excellence in Research Animal Care & Use Award. Established in 2019, the Award celebrates staff excellence within the research community in the categories of Excellence in Animal Welfare, ...
Hadrian Kinnear, 2019 Excellence in Research Animal Care & Use Award Winner

ULAM

ULAM Introduces New Behavioral Welfare Group

The newly-formed Behavioral Welfare Group, part of the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM), consists of a team of laboratory animal professionals who meet monthly to discuss our animals’ welfare and behavioral health needs. Specific areas of focus include animal enrichment, social housing, and acclimation to procedures. This group replaces the previous Animal Enrichment Committee ...
White rabbit with pumpkin enrichment

ULAM

ULAM Welcomes Two New Faculty Members

The Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) has recently welcomed two new faculty veterinarians: Gerry Hish, DVM, DACLAM Gerry Hish, DVM, DACLAM, joined ULAM as a Faculty Veterinarian in June. He also currently serves as the Program Director for the ULAM Postdoctoral Clinical Training Program. Dr. Hish brings a great deal of experience to U-M, ...
Gerry Hish, DVM, DACLAM

Guidelines Husbandry ULAM

Changes to CO2 Flow Rates

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recently updated the Guidelines for Euthanasia of Animals. An important feature of the changes in the AVMA Guidelines includes updates to recommended carbon dioxide (CO2) flow rates for rodent euthanasia. Subsequently, the University of Michigan (U-M) has updated our practices and guidance documents to ensure that we are compliant with ...
CO2 flow meter icon denoting guideline changes coming soon

ULAM

Lucy Kennedy Named U-M’s Assistant Attending Veterinarian, Assistant Director for Clinical Services in ULAM

Lucy Kennedy, DVM, DACLAM, has been appointed to the roles of Assistant Attending Veterinarian for the University of Michigan and Assistant Director for Clinical Services in the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM). Both appointments were effective May 1, 2020. As Assistant Director for Clinical Operations, Dr. Kennedy will have managing oversight of veterinary clinical ...
Lucy Kennedy, DVM, DACLAM headshot

AAALAC Forms IACUC

IACUC Develops New Self-Guided Evaluation of Animal Activities & Protocol Content Form

To help mitigate the risk of protocol non-compliance and, more importantly, demonstrate our individual and collective commitment(s) to sustained programmatic excellence, the Animal Care & Use Program has created a new Self-Guided Evaluation of Animal Activities & Protocol Content Form (available via PDF download).  Developed by the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC), this assessment ...
Hand drawing on white board with label that states "Now Loading: Self-Guided Evaluation of Animal Activities & Protocol Content Form”

Forms Husbandry

Avoiding Common Mistakes When Completing Surgical Records for Mice (Mus) and Rats (Rattus)

The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals states that medical records are critical for documenting animal well-being; this includes a history of surgical procedures and post-operative care. The U-M Animal Care & Use (ACU) Program requires a peri-operative record for each rodent cage that contains post-operative animals. To simplify recordkeeping requirements, fillable ...
Surgical records illustration with mouse, rat, and vital signs icon

eRAM IACUC Safety

Medical Surveillance Clearance Requirement for Protocol Approval

Institutions are responsible for maintaining an Occupational Health & Safety Program (OHSP) as part of their overall animal care and use program. This program must comply with all federal, state, and local regulations, and should focus on maintaining a safe and healthy workplace. The Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) is responsible for overseeing ...
People icons on protocol interface illustration

QA

How Can the Quality Assurance Team Benefit You?

The Animal Care & Use Office Quality Assurance (QA) Team is a resource for the research community. Through meetings with PIs and their laboratories, the QA Team supports the research community by providing immediate assistance with solving individual laboratory problems and collating laboratory feedback to promote programmatic change(s). Since Fall 2017, the QA Team has ...
Graphic - how can the ACU Quality Assurance Team Assist Your Laboratory?

Training

Reminders and Best Practices for Animal Care & Use Program Training

Maintaining a comprehensive training and education program is essential to the U-M’s ongoing commitment to sustained excellence and compassion in animal care and use. To that end, all faculty and staff who work with animals in the conduct of their teaching or research are encouraged to review the following reminders and best practices for Animal ...
lightbulb icon with gear