JUSTIFICATION FOR ATTENDING NIH-SUPPORTED IACUC 101™ SERIES
​TRAINING/EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

The NIH-supported, IACUC 101™ Series 501(3)(c) nonprofit presents educational programs to promote understanding of federal laws, regulations and policies governing the care and use of animals in research, teaching and testing, and the roles and responsibilities of individuals active in institutional animal care and use programs. Its programs which are supported by 1R13OD018401-01 from the NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) are specifically designed to educate individuals from a variety of biomedical research entities including, but not limited to, academia, government, and industry. These entities are most often federally funded by the Public Health Service (PHS), regulated under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Welfare Regulations, and/or accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International. Program goals are to help ensure responsible and humane animal care and use; meet a significant portion of training expectations as mandated by the Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animal (Guide) and USDA Animal Welfare Regulations; help Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) members, animal research scientists, veterinarians, animal care personnel, administrative personnel and others engaged in the animal research oversight to understand their regulatory and ethical obligations; and ultimately help preserve a forward momentum for quality, compliant and responsible animal research in the United States.

The goal of the IACUC 101™ Series programs is to deliver affordable, quality basic and advanced educational programs that:

1. Promote understanding of and help ensure compliance with the most current federal laws, regulations, policies and guidelines governing the care and use of animals in research, teaching and testing as well as an understanding of best practices;
2. Help PHS-Assured, USDA-registered and AAALAC-accredited institutions that use animals in research meet training and educational mandates/expectations;
3. Help Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) members, animal research scientists, veterinarians, animal care personnel, administrative personnel and others engaged in the oversight of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Program to understand their regulatory obligations during the conduct of animal research, teaching and testing;
4. Offer examples of multiple mechanisms and processes that can be implemented to meet regulatory expectations and can be customized to meet the unique needs of a given animal care and use program;
5. Help to meet a significant portion of training expectations as dictated by the Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS Policy), USDA Animal Welfare Regulations (AWRs), and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide);
6. Lay a foundation for understanding and implementing the processes necessary for PHS-Assured (federally funded) institutions to comply with the PHS Policy (and thereby, help secure/maintain federal grant eligibility for research); for USDA-regulated research facilities to comply with the animal welfare regulations; and for PHS-Assured or AAALAC (Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Animal Care)-accredited institutions comply with the Guide;
7. Offer a forum that encourages interaction, networking and collegiality amongst animal research entities, subject experts and federal regulators;
8. Ultimately, help to preserve a forward momentum for continued quality, compliant and responsible animal research in the United States.

Since 1998, over 15,000 people have attended IACUC 101™ Series programs. Core faculty consists of nationally recognized subject experts in the field of animal research compliance and derive from and/or provide consulting services to academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, research animal breeders, biotechs, contract research organizations, non-profit research organizations, hospitals, and government agencies that engage in or support animal research programs in the United States. In addition, all programs include at least one expert each from NIH OLAW (e.g. Office Director; Directors of Division of Compliance Oversight, Division of Assurances, or Division of Policy and Education; or Animal Welfare Program Specialists), USDA Animal Care (e.g. Eastern Regional and Western Regional Directors; Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officers; Supervisory Animal Care Specialists) and AAALAC (Executive and Senior Directors, and Council Members).

Target audiences derive from biomedical research entitles that use animals in research, teaching and testing. They include Institutional Officials, other administrative leadership, IACUC members, IACUC administrative staff, animal research investigators, veterinary personal including veterinarians and technicians, animal care staff, animal use trainers, post-approval monitors, biosafety and occupational safety experts, information specialists, etc. The vast majority of attendees derive from institutions that are PHS-Assured, USDA-regulated, or AAALAC-accredited status or various combinations of the three.

The American Association of Veterinary State Boards RACE committee has reviewed and approved all IACUC 101™ Series programs for Continuing Education Units. IACUC 101 is approved for 6.5 CEUs; IACUC 201: Beyond the Basics is approved for 4.5 units; and IACUC 301 – Scenarios is approved for 6.0 CEUs.