Navigator Newsletter-May 2023

AAALAC 2023 Site Visit

Site visitors from AAALAC International will be at our Arizona site on June 22 and at our Seattle campuses June 26-30th. As part of the visit, all animal housing areas and many laboratories will be visited.

To ensure a successful visit and continued accreditation, it is important that all members of our research community actively participate in preparations.

We have developed two self-evaluation guides to help you get your protocol and lab spaces into shape.

Check them out and reach out to oawrss@uw.edu or your liaison with any questions.

ABSL-2 Dirty Cage Disposal

There has been previous confusion about handling and bagging ABSL-2 dirty rodent cages. DCM has updated policies and recommended practices.

All researchers working with ABSL-2 will be required to complete the lesson.

ABSL-2: Dirty Cage Handling and Bagging.

Check your Protocols!

How long has it been since you looked at your approved protocol? Things change and memory erodes.

Before you inject that substance into your research animal, or perform that technique, double-check that it is in the current version of your approved protocol.

Check training records, both in your laboratory and in HoverBoard, to ensure that you and your team have the required training and certification, when applicable.

If you are not sure how to access and review your protocol, check out this lesson Always Check Your Protocol Before Beginning Animal Work.

Don’t be the one that deviates from the protocol. If help is needed, please reach out oawrrs@uw.edu or your liaison.

IACUC Policies

The UW IACUC has a library of Policies that have been developed and amended over time to reflect the expectations of the university’s IACUC. These Policies are reviewed by the IACUC on a regular basis. Exceptions to an IACUC Policy require justification in the IACUC protocol.

The IACUC also provides a number of Guidelines, which as the name suggests, are meant to provide guidance to investigators while planning their studies.

Environmental Enrichment SOPs that define social housing and enrichment expectations can also be found on that site, as well as any IACUC-approved exemptions to regulatory guidance.

Please peruse the IACUC Policies library and review those relevant to your research.