Under the OSD, the Office of Laboratory Animal Medicine (OLAM) is responsible for directing the program of laboratory animal care and use and supporting NHGRI investigators. OLAM provides all administrative functions and support to the NHGRI Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) to include scheduling and coordinating the logistics for monthly meetings, provides the timely preparation and distribution of agendas, minutes, decisions and related ACUC materials, provides Animal Study Proposal (ASP) design support, conducts intake protocol/amendment review to ensure completeness, maintains official electronic training records and files, organizes the semiannual program evaluation, tracks and facilitates correction of program deficiencies, organizes and assists with the response to any animal welfare concerns, performs Post Approval Monitoring (PAM) and serves as a liaison to Occupational Health and Safety and facility management. OLAM generates, maintains and updates the NHGRI Investigator Handbook, the NHGRI ACUC Handbook, ACUC guidelines, standard operating procedures (SOP), prepares and manages the Animal Program Disaster Preparedness plan and other resources to provide further information and guidance on the humane care and use of animals in research. Furthermore, OLAM provides NHGRI investigators with professional advice on comparative medicine, coordinates and organizes global animal imports/exports, processes animal orders, provides veterinary care and technical research support for investigators. OLAM continuously evaluates, develops and/or recommends refinements in the humane care and handling of laboratory animals to meet current best practices. A critical focus of investigator support is training on the proper care, use, humane treatment and handling of research animals. To this end, OLAM has created a comprehensive hands-on training program for investigators working on NHGRI research animal models. The training offered through OLAM ensures that all animal handling is in compliance with NHGRI, NIH, and Federal regulations and guidelines for the continued assurance of full accreditation by the AAALAC, International. In addition to the NIH required animal training and registering with the Animal Exposure Program (AEP), the NHGRI ACUC requires additional training prior to being listed on a NHGRI ASP or added to an ASP by amendment. This additional level of training ensures that each investigator completes and understands facility-specific requirements to include entry requirements, standard facility procedures, proper animal care and handling procedures, proper use of anesthetics and analgesics, environmental enrichment, allergy prevention, personal protective equipment and other safety requirements, security, and the procedures for reporting animal welfare concerns. The Animal Program Director (APD) or her designee performs this training. Investigators working with mice must also review the relevant sections of an NHGRI developed video, Training in Basic Biomethodology for Laboratory Mice. This video covers the most common rodent procedures performed at NHGRI. This includes general husbandry, restraint and handling, identification methods, genotyping, injections, blood collection, anesthesia and analgesia, and euthanasia. One-on-one hands-on training with the APD or her designee occurs to assure that animals are treated humanely without injury to the animal or handler and that skills are appropriate for the experimental manipulation(s) being performed, including approved methods of euthanasia. Periodically, all Animal Study Proposals will undergo a PAM to include observing investigators perform experimental techniques to ensure congruency between the ASP and what is actually being done. Training is an on-going commitment and a high priority at NHGRI. Investigator training with OLAM occurs on an almost daily basis. OLAM also provides advanced technique training for both rodents and aquatic species. Advanced rodent training is required for individuals performing survival rodent surgery and includes viewing the video, Training in Rodent Survival Surgery developed and financially supported by the NHGRI and the OACU. This video covers special considerations in transgenic surgery and basic suturing techniques. Pre-surgical planning and training is initiated during protocol development. The Principal Investigator (PI) and APD will assess the proficiency of surgeons before they are allowed to perform survival surgery. Regardless of the level of expertise of the investigator, the APD observes all surgeries when they are first performed. NHGRI OLAM is committed to promoting the humane care and use of animals in biomedical and behavior research, teaching and testing.
| Zhao, Ling; Melenhorst, Jan J; Alemu, Lemlem et al. (2012) KIT with D816 mutations cooperates with CBFB-MYH11 for leukemogenesis in mice. Blood 119:1511-21 |
| Kakani, Sravan; Yardeni, Tal; Poling, Justin et al. (2012) The Gne M712T mouse as a model for human glomerulopathy. Am J Pathol 180:1431-40 |
| Yardeni, Tal; Eckhaus, Michael; Morris, H Douglas et al. (2011) Retro-orbital injections in mice. Lab Anim (NY) 40:155-60 |
| Blair-Handon, Robin; Mueller, Kristen; Hoogstraten-Miller, Shelley (2010) An alternative method for intrathymic injections in mice. Lab Anim (NY) 39:248-52 |
| Kent, Michael L; Feist, Stephen W; Harper, Claudia et al. (2009) Recommendations for control of pathogens and infectious diseases in fish research facilities. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol 149:240-8 |
| Palavalli, Lavanya H; Prickett, Todd D; Wunderlich, John R et al. (2009) Analysis of the matrix metalloproteinase family reveals that MMP8 is often mutated in melanoma. Nat Genet 41:518-20 |
