Animal Resource Facility

Grant Application Information

A. Regulatory Agencies and Accreditation Status

The HSC Animal Research Program is registered as a research facility with the USDA (85-R-0014), has a Letter of Assurance on file with PHS /OLAW (A3350-01) and is fully accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC Accreditation Unit File No. 000222).

The ARF is AAALAC accredited and adheres to all provisions of the PHS policy on the care and use of laboratory animals, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and the Animal Welfare Act and implementing regulations.

B. NIH Checklist Vertebrate Animals

For proposal submission to NIH that involve vertebrate animals the “Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section (VAS)” ( http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/VASchecklist.pdf) should be referenced to assure that necessary animal program information is provided. In addition, ARF provides a boilerplate template to support information that is requested under paragraphs 3-5 of this checklist.

C. General Facility Description

The UNM HSC maintains 40,000 sq.ft. of animal resource facility (ARF) space, directed by Kevin O'Hair, DVM who is board certified in the College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM) and a faculty member of the department of Pathology, School of Medicine. The ARF is located on the contiguous ground floor of the Basic Medical Sciences Building (BMSB) and the Biomedical Research Facility (BRF). The ARF is maintained as a specific pathogen free (SPF) facility essential for current, state of the science research, and contains specialized barrier facilities for breeding laboratory mice. The ARF also provides technical and veterinary support for all educational and research projects utilizing laboratory animals. The ARF encompasses animal housing areas and special use areas such as treatment rooms, procedural laboratories, imaging, biohazardous and chemical exposure research areas, surgery suites and barrier rodent housing rooms. The animal care program is supported by Christie Wilcox, AS, RLATG, Operations Manager, and a staff of six laboratory animal technicians.

Specialized Facilities:

  1. Biohazard (BSL) facilities
  2. Breeding and Research Barriers
  3. Hazardous Chemical Exposure facility
  4. Surgery
  5. Procedure labs
  6. Necropsy
  7. Imaging
 

D. Program of Veterinary Care

All animals at the Health Sciences Center are housed in the Animal Resources Facility (ARF) managed facilities. Animal housing rooms are under temperature and humidity control. The facility is directed by one full time veterinarian, Kevin C. O’Hair, DVM, DACLAM (ARF Director and Attending Veterinarian) and staffed by one operations manager (RLATG), 3 senior animal care technicians (LAT) and 3 animal care technicians; either the ARF Director or an emergency clinical veterinarian is available at all times. Animal care staff conduct routine husbandry procedures (e.g., cage cleaning, feeding and watering) and check animals daily to assess their condition. Clinical observation room sheets are completed daily by the animal care staff and sent to the operations manager. These reports are forwarded to the veterinarian when clinical concerns are reported. Laboratory staff monitor animals when treatments are given and individual animal post procedural condition scores are recorded when determined necessary based upon expected morbidity and as required under the respective IACUC approved protocols. The veterinary personnel monitor animals in their home cages, biweekly or immediately when clinical concerns are reported by animal care or laboratory staff. if animals exhibit any indication of infection, disease or distress, the veterinary staff confers with laboratory personnel to recommend appropriate antibiotics, analgesics or other pharmaceuticals/supportive care. The veterinarian may intervene or recommend euthanasia based on animal welfare concerns.

The ARF director is responsible for the administration of the Veterinary Care Program, oversight of facilities management, supervision, training and compliance. The program of veterinary care includes provisions for health surveillance of all animals, specific quality assurance programs for rodent populations, a quarantine testing program, and specific treatment guidelines.

The ARF director also provides veterinary review and consultation for all educational and research protocols submitted to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.