Posted: December 19, 2008
“When Terms and Conditions Are Not Met” seminar available for viewing from the OLAW IACUC Staff Outreach page.

Posted: December 18, 2008
OLAW is pleased to announce that Jerry Collins, Ph. D. has joined OLAW as a part-time employee in the Division of Policy and Education through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Mobility Program. The IPA Mobility Program provides for the temporary assignment of personnel between the Federal Government and universities.

Within the OLAW Division of Policy and Education, Dr. Collins will focus on the development of creative, unique curricula to educate targeted audiences regarding the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

Dr. Collins continues to serve as Professor of Anesthesiology at Yale University School of Medicine where he served as the Chair of the Yale IACUC from 1997 until 2008. Prior to assuming that responsibility, he worked with local, state and national organizations to improve scientific literacy among high school students. He currently serves a member of the Council on Accreditation of AAALAC, International. Dr. Collins' research interests are focused on the sensation of itch.

Posted: October 2, 2008
Animal Use Oversight: Balancing Risk Management with Burden
Issue editors: Kathryn Bayne and Nelson Garnett

"The authors in this issue of the ILAR Journal variously address the need to mitigate risk associated with animal-based research and describe different ways to achieve the delicate balance between regulatory burden and research conducted in a humane and responsible manner. They are all strongly committed individuals at the core of the research enterprise and they are unanimous in their desire to both facilitate research and ensure the humane care and use of research animals.”

Posted: September 19, 2008
Freedom of Information Act Policies Seminar Available for Viewing from the OLAW IACUC Staff Outreach page.

Posted: May 21, 2008
Detection and Management of Microbial Contamination in Laboratory Rodents 
Issue editors: Stephen Barthold and Abigail Smith

"The mouse poses unique challenges because of the nature of the beast: there are many inbred strains with intrinsic and extrinsic genetic susceptibility to various agents, mutant strains, and immunodeficient strains, and there is much more sophisticated research that is subject to relatively subtle experimental variables compared to other species. Drawing the line between overt pathogens, opportunistic pathogens, and normal microflora/-fauna of the mouse can be daunting, if not impossible. And because most infectious "diseases" of laboratory rodents tend to be subclinical, there is ambivalence in the scientific community about their importance, so good surveillance and diagnostic programs, even if successful, are likely to be unappreciated or even eliminated when funding gets tight. So it may seem that microbial surveillance and control is a Gordian knot with no solutions; but it is really not that complicated, as the authors in this issue explain based on their expertise and experience.”

Posted: March 4, 2008
Microbial Quality Control for Nonhuman Primates 
Issue editors: Keith Mansfield and Joseph Kemnitz

"In contrast to many other laboratory animal species, infectious diseases have proven difficult to eliminate from nonhuman primate colonies and various pathogens remain a threat to animal and colony health. Moreover, despite significant advances in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, unrecognized or adventitious agents are common in nonhuman primates and have the potential to confound experimental work. This issue of the ILAR Journal is devoted to microbial quality control for nonhuman primates and addresses a number of important concerns facing veterinarians and scientists who use such animals."

Posted: February 28, 2008
New Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are now posted on the OLAW website at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/faqs.htm. OLAW developed the new FAQs in response to requests for guidance on these topics. The new FAQs have been added to previously posted FAQs and are marked as “” to enable readers to quickly locate and review this new guidance. Institutions are encouraged to review OLAW FAQs and make use of this resource. To print a copy of the FAQs, use the print function located at the upper right portion of the webpage, above the search box.

OLAW accepts questions, suggestions and comments relating to the FAQs and other information posted on OLAW webpages. Communications can be directed to OLAW help.

Posted: February 26, 2008
OLAW has updated the sample Assurance document as announced in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, NOT-OD-08-049, February 15, 2008. Changes to the sample document clarify essential information and define the elements that are required in the Assurance. The Assurance is intended to be a stand-alone document that succinctly describes the animal care and use program of an institution. Therefore, the required materials have been streamlined to reduce regulatory burden on the grantee institution. Institutions that submit Assurances after April 15, 2008 are asked to follow the format of the revised sample Assurance.

For ease of submission, the signed Animal Welfare Assurance may be converted to a PDF file and submitted to the OLAW Division of Assurances email box at olawdoa@mail.nih.gov

For questions or further information, contact OLAW help.

Posted: February 12, 2008
NICEATM and ICCVAM have developed a Five-Year Plan to:

• Research, develop, translate, and validate new and revised non-animal and other alternative assays for integration of relevant and reliable methods into Federal agency testing programs
• Identify areas of high priority for new and revised non-animal and alternative assays or batteries of those assays to create a path forward for the replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal tests, when this is scientifically valid and appropriate

For more information and to download the plan, visit http://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov/docs/5yearplan.htm