Advance Laboratory Animal Medicine
A program to facilitate studies that support the pursuit of evidence-based decision making to strengthen and enhance the University of Michigan’s Animal Care & Use Program as well as the broader field of laboratory animal medicine.
In the pursuit of evidence-based decision making to guide continued advancements across our Animal Care & Use Program and the field of laboratory animal medicine, the U-M Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has an established mechanism to fund internal projects to inform the following:
- Policy creation,
- Animal welfare practice guidance,
- IACUC requested pilot study support, and
- Husbandry methodology.
To date, 30+ studies have been funded by this program, with far-reaching impacts on both the U-M animal care and use community as well as the broader fields of laboratory animal science and medicine.
Studies have resulted in:
- Refinement of research and animal care practices,
- Formulation of internal performance standards,
- Improvements in anesthetic and analgesic practices for animals,
- Assessing long-term storage stability and sterility for compounded aseptic solutions, and
- Development of nationally available training tools for rabbit socialization.
Program Eligibility
Applicants must have a full-time appointment with the University of Michigan, including either Michigan Medicine, U-M Ann Arbor, U-M Dearborn, or U-M Flint campuses.
Funding proposals must also include a co-applicant from the Animal Care & Use Program. If the study involves direct animal handling, the co-applicant should be a member of the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) veterinary faculty.
Where possible, awardees should also collaborate with the Refinement & Enrichment Advancements Laboratory (REAL) on their study.
Selection Criteria
Studies will be selected for funding based on the following:
- Clarity and coherence of project rationale
- The significance of the research question being addressed
- Feasibility of the proposal within the given timeline and resources
- Anticipated benefits/impacts to the U-M Animal Care & Use Program
- Anticipated benefits/impacts to the laboratory animal science/medicine field(s)
This program should not be used for pilot funding to collect data in support of a larger government (e.g., NIH or NSF) or other externally-funded (i.e., industry or foundation) grant proposal.
All projects must involve close collaboration with a member or members of the Animal Care & Use Program, including one or more of the following:
- Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee
- Animal Care & Use Office
- Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine
Award Details
Although the unique needs of each project will vary in size and scope, proposals funded through this program generally receive support averaging between $15,000 – $25,000 for the entirety of the 12-month study.
A complete budget, including a budget justification, is required as part of the formal application process. This budget should match all activities described in the proposal and should explain, in detail, the costs associated with each activity.
Examples of allowable and unallowable expenses that will be considered:
Allowable Expenses
Unallowable Expenses
- Purchase of animals
- Per-diem fees
- Research supplies
- Technical service fees
- Tuition
- Individual salary release
- Travel
- Conference fees (registration, etc.)
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Notification of application status and funding decision is typically made within 30 days (one month) of application submission.
Interested applicants must complete a formal application via the Animal Care & Use Program’s InfoReady Review website to be considered for funding.
A final progress report is required upon completion of the proposed study. Reports should be submitted via the Animal Care & Use Program’s InfoReady Review website using the provided Project Report Form.
If reasonable justification is given in a written, formal extension request, no-cost time extensions beyond the original project deadline may be approved.
All studies must be completed within one calendar year (12 months) from the initial date of fund dispersal unless an extension has been otherwise approved in writing.
Any unspent funds will be returned to the U-M Animal Care & Use Program at the conclusion of the study.
If a proposal is funded, awardees will be required to:
- Collaborate with a member of the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) veterinary faculty, if animal use is involved, to optimize and refine study design and implementation;
- Summarize the results of their study in writing to the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) and, if requested, make a short presentation at a convened meeting of the IACUC to share their findings; and
- Store study summaries and raw data on an internal platform managed by the U-M Animal Care & Use Program so that future awardees interested in a similar refinement or study may review the data for applicability to their own study needs.
Awardees are strongly encouraged to disseminate the results of their study, including:
- Publishing results via collaboration and co-authorship with the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, and
- Notifying Animal Care & Use Program leadership of future publications, conference presentations, and/or other dissemination of findings that have resulted from this funding.
Awardees should acknowledge this funding program in all relevant publications, conference presentations, etc., by including the following acknowledgement language:
“Funding for this study was provided by the University of Michigan Quality Improvement Fund administered by the University of Michigan Animal Care & Use Program and the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Research.”
Questions?
Questions about this program should be directed to the Animal Care & Use Office at [email protected].