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 “Interpreting guidance on significant changes” in the March 2015 issue. Download the column here: Lab Animal 2015; 44(03). (PDF)

Join OLAW for a webinar, Zebrafish 101 for IACUCs, on March 12, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm ET. Guest speakers Monte Matthews, University of Oregon, and Dr. George Sanders, University of Washington School of Medicine, will discuss programmatic and veterinary care needs of zebrafish and provide IACUCs with useful information to help facilitate institutional oversight of PHS-funded research involving aquatic species.

About OLAW Webinars

An IACUC 101 workshop and the Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) IACUC Conference will be held March 18-20, 2015 in Boston, MA.

IACUC 101 is a one-day didactic and interactive exploration of IACUC fundamentals appropriate for new and seasoned IACUC members, IACUC affiliates, and individuals responsible for their institution's animal care program. The course provides a basic yet comprehensive overview of the laws, regulations, and policies that govern the humane care and use of research animals.

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, Maryland 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.

The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR) will present the 2015 IACUC Regional Education Conference on February 23 in Seattle, WA. The one-day conference will bring together IACUC administrators, staff, veterinarians, researchers and animal lab technicians. There will be interactive discussions for new and experienced IACUC members, opportunities to ask questions of regulatory officials, and networking time with colleagues.

Experimental Design and Statistics: The review articles in this issue discuss current methods of animal research to address what can be done to improve the quality of animal experiments, choice of animal model, and the systematic review and meta-analysis of animal experiments.

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 “Authority to euthanize” in the January 2015 issue. Download the column here: Lab Animal 2015; 44(01). (PDF).

To further explore this and other topics, browse the OLAW Topic Index. For additional information, visit OLAW.

A recording of the OLAW Online Seminar, Openness and Transparency and Biomedical Research Oversight, broadcast on December 4, 2014 has been posted on the OLAW website. In this webinar a panel of experts discussed the relationship of the Federal FOIA and states open records laws to the USDA OLAW MOU that promotes continual improvement in animal welfare and reduces redundancy in oversight and regulatory burden. The recording and supporting materials can be found on the Education Resources webpage.

OLAW Policy on Shared Animal Welfare Concerns has been published in NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-15-028. In this Notice, OLAW explains how self-reports of serious animal welfare concerns involving USDA regulated species are shared with Animal Care (AC), Animal Welfare Operations. Serious animal welfare concerns may include unanticipated death of animal(s), and unexpected and unrelieved pain or distress to animal(s). OLAW will contact AC to share serious animal welfare concerns and issues of interest to both agencies.

Do you have questions about OLAW’s new guidance on significant changes to animal activities? If so, check out the OLAW Special Seminar. In this video, OLAW, USDA and guest speakers discuss each section of the guidance in detail and answer questions that you might have. Included in the discussion are helpful examples and scenarios. See additional questions, not included in the video, that have been added to the transcript.