CUR 2002 Workshop Summaries

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CUR 2002 Workshop Report

"Responsible Research with Animals"

Moderators: Suzanne Baker, James Madison University, and Nancy Dess, Occidental College

Researchers who study nonhuman vertebrate animals have a responsibility to their students, peers, institution, governmental agencies, and society – and to the animals they study – to do their work humanely. Fulfilling this responsibility requires a commitment to learning about relevant principles, keeping current with policy changes, and thinking deeply about the moral and legal dimensions of the enterprise. The session on “Responsible Research with Animals” at CUR was predicated on this commitment. The objectives were:

To give an overview of federal policy and highlight recent changes
To provide information about available resources
To address attendees’ questions about setting up and managing an animal care program

Nelson Garnett, Director of the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, made opening remarks about federal policy and its relation to institutional practices and about ethics and regulatory resources for researchers, including OLAW staff, websites and a new edition of the ARENA/OLAW Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Guidebook. Suzanne Baker, James Madison University, and Nancy Dess, Occidental College, served as discussion moderators. Issues raised by those in attendance ranged from practical advice (e.g. how to create and populate an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, how to keep up with policy and animal welfare developments) to specific policy questions (e.g. whether work with custom antibodies requires IACUC review) to educational matters (e.g. effective ways of educating students about the ethics of research and teaching with laboratory animals). Attendees indicated that the session would assist them in the operation of a humane, regulation-compliant animal care program.