Dear Colleagues,

In this month’s Impact Kentucky newsletter, we announced changes to animal care and use requirements. These changes are vital to our continued AAALAC accreditation, which supports UK’s conduct of leading-edge research with animal models. While the requirements, detailed below, will not be enforced until next year (starting October 1, 2025), I encourage you to be proactive in taking advantage of the voluntary audit, office hours and orientation sessions. Thank you for partnering with us to safeguard research within your team and across all research teams at UK.

Ilhem Messaoudi, PhD
Acting Vice President for Research
University of Kentucky

New Animal Care and Use Requirements for all UK Investigators | deadline Oct 1, 2025

The most recent AAALAC International accreditation site visit to assess UK’s program for care and use of animals used in research and teaching noted several areas that require strengthening. In response, the Office of the Attending Veterinarian (OAV), Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) have made enhancements that are expected to yield improvements in animal welfare, training and reduce instances of noncompliance with regulations, policies and approved IACUC protocols. These changes include the addition of a dedicated training professional to the DLAR staff, increased efforts toward effective post-approval monitoring, animal housing improvements, and enhanced training for IACUC members and animal research personnel.

Investigators, please note the following program changes:

IACUC

• All individuals listed on an IACUC protocol must complete, every three years, a continuing education course (titled “Animal Use Review for University of Kentucky Personnel” under AALAS Learning Library > Group Courses) designed specifically for the University of Kentucky. This course is available on the AALAS Learning Library (ALL) website and will replace a previous requirement for completion of a more generic course. Completion of one additional course offered through the ALL or a DLAR Workshop will still be required.

• Principal Investigators must now maintain a log to document the training completed by all personnel listed on IACUC protocols. Training of personnel with respect to specific procedures may occur within the home laboratory, at another laboratory or institution, or via coordinated training opportunities, such as those offered by DLAR or the AALAS Learning Library (ALL). ALL training transcripts may be found upon log-in, top righthand corner pulldown, but training provided by AALAS does not need to be included in the training logs. All are valid approaches, but training must be documented for each person. Training documentation must include: 1) person who was trained, 2) topic of training, 3) who provided training, 4) where the training was performed (e.g., UK, elsewhere), and 5) training date. The investigator can determine the preferred format to maintain these records. A link to a sample documentation template can be found in IACUC Policy 106. This requirement must be implemented by October 1, 2025.

• The IACUC now offers and markets the opportunity for investigators to request a voluntary IACUC audit of their animal care and use activities. As an entirely voluntary activity on the part of investigators, the IACUC audit allows for collegial interaction and dialogue to identify aspects of animal use that might be improved or are falling short of expectations. For more information, please contact Jason Oakes in the OAV office. 

• The OAV is always available to answer questions. The OAV has regularly scheduled office hours from 10 am - 12 pm on the third Wednesday of every month. OAV appointments may also be scheduled by email (oav@uky.edu).

• The OAV and DLAR will be conducting additional monitoring of animal use on behalf of the IACUC to ensure that animals are used in compliance with the approved protocol, DLAR procedures and IACUC policies. This will involve additional IACUC and OAV visits to areas where animals are housed and used, as well as reviews of records.

DLAR

• Investigators, staff, and students new to the DLAR animal facilities use must complete an orientation session offered by the DLAR and the OAV prior to being granted facility access. Orientation sessions are provided by DLAR/OAV on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 10:30 am or are made available upon request.  Any personnel who have not previously conducted work involving DLAR facilities must also have a tour of the facility. The tour provides an overview of practices, standards and contact personnel and is to be completed within 30 days of receiving facility access. Failure to complete the facility tour will result in loss of access until the tour has been completed and documented.

• Current DLAR facility investigators, staff, and students must complete a refresher course no later than December 31, 2025, titled “Orientation for Users of Vertebrate Animals in DLAR Refresher” under AALAS Learning Library > Group Courses.

• To schedule the Investigator Orientation session or Facility Tour you can contact the DLAR Training Group (dlartraining@l.uky.edu) or use the links below:

  • Investigator Orientation (pdf)

  • Facility Tour (Qualtrics form)