Meeting the Information Requirements of the Animal Welfare Act: A Workshop

The USDA Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) teaches a one and a half day workshop at the National Agricultural Library (NAL) in Beltsville, MD, for individuals who are responsible for providing information to meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The workshop is targeted for principal investigators, members of IACUCs, information providers, administrators of animal use programs, and veterinarians.

Visit the Guidance section on the OLAW website for updated Commentary on Lab Animal Protocol Review columns. “A word from OLAW” responds to the topic “When reducing numbers might increase pain” in the January 2016 issue. Download the column here: Lab Animal 2016; 45(01). (PDF)

The 14th CDC International Symposium on Biosafety “Biosafety Management: Planning for the Future by Learning from the Past” will be returning to the Crowne Plaza Ravinia in Atlanta, GA on January 30 - February 3, 2016. Hear from industry leaders on lessons learned and how biosafety regulations are changing.

Attend this symposium for 2½ days of presentations and discussions, plus 2 days of pre-conference courses, as well as many opportunities to network with your colleagues and over 30 exhibitors.

Annual reports for the period January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015 are due to OLAW by January 31, 2016 as required by the PHS Policy.

What to Include

As with previous annual reports, the information to be reported consists of any change in the institution’s program of animal care and use, any change in the Institutional Official or IACUC membership, the dates that the IACUC conducted its semiannual evaluations of the program and facilities, and any minority view by an IACUC member.

NIH has simplified the Vertebrate Animals Section (VAS) of grant applications, cooperative agreements, and contract proposals to remove redundancy with IACUC review while meeting the requirements of the PHS Policy.

Join OLAW for a webinar, Resources for the 3Rs, on September 24, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm ET. Dr. Brian Haugen, Office of Data Analysis Tools & Systems, NIH, will discuss access to data in RePORTER (a database of research funded by NIH and other components of HHS, as well as the VA) as a resource to search for refinements, research models, publications, techniques, and more. Dr.

The IACUC Administrators Association (IAA) will present a Best Practices Meeting on October 5-6, 2015 in Boston, MA. This 2-day meeting is for IACUC staff and animal program operations personnel to present and share best practices in the humane care and use of laboratory animals. For more information, visit IAA

The Scientists Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW) will present an IACUC Training Workshop on October 8, 2015 in Chicago, IL. SCAW developed this one-day educational workshop for experienced Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) members and administrators, principal investigators, attending veterinarians, regulatory personnel and laboratory animal care staff. The program focuses on topics relevant to IACUC functions and provides opportunities for small discussion groups and sharing of information among participants.

Visit the Guidance section on the OLAW website for updated Commentary on Lab Animal Protocol Review columns. “A word from OLAW and USDA” responds to the topic “Expediting assignment of protocol reviewers” in the September 2015 issue. Download the column here: Lab Animal 2015; 44(09). (PDF)