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Montefiore Medical Center
The Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC)

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Animal Welfare Orientation for New Scientists
All Faculty, students and research or technical staff who will be directly involved in research with the use of vertebrate animals at MMC must satisfactorily complete the Animal Welfare Orientation process and have their role identified on a IACUC approved protocol. Except for the final step of the process, the facility tour, the orientation process is designed to be completed on-line which facilitates timely completion by Scientists who have not yet arrived at MMC. As required by the IACUC, the orientation process must be completed PRIOR to participating in any animal-related activities and PRIOR to obtaining access to the research facility. No exceptions will be made and until orientation is completed, work with animals is prohibited.
The purpose of the animal welfare orientation process is three-fold:
  1. First to insure that all people working with animals in research understand their individual responsibility for the welfare of their animals. This responsibility includes familiarity with the laws, regulations and policies as set forth in the USDA Animal Welfare Act, the Public Health Service Policy, the New York State Department of Health, and the Montefiore Medical Center IACUC, which together, embody four decades of comprehensive and detailed standards of care for all vertebrate species involved in research.
  2. Second, to describe and explain the requirements and procedures of the Animal Care Facility (ACF)
  3. Third, to determine the need for further training for investigators, fellows, residents, and technicians.
The process involves 3 steps:
  1. Complete the on line animal welfare tutorial. The applicant should be prepared to answer questions about the following informaton during step 3:
    - Principles of humane care of animals in research
    - Functions of the IACUC including the protocol review process,
    - Functions of the Animal Care Office
    - Facilty operating rules including animal ordering, animal care and technical services
  2. Complete and fax the "New Scientist" questionnaire to the Animal Care Manager at 718-920-4258. Upon receipt of the "New Scientist" questionnaire at the Animal Care office, the applicant will receive confirmation to complete the final phase of the orientation. The final phase consists of a meeting with the Manager of the Animal Care Office. These meetings are to be scheduled at fblanco@montefiore.org .
  3. When the applicant completes the orientation process, their personnel information is presented to the IACUC at the next scheduled monthly meeting. Following IACUC review and approval, facility access will be granted to the applicant and a letter of confirmation will be sent to the applicant's faculty sponsor.

Additional recommended reading is the excerpt from the Guide to the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

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Technical Training Modules:
Rodents as Models in Biomedical Research
Surgery and Anesthesia
Animal Welfare laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines
This site has been established to provide access to all Federal, State, and Medical Center animal welfare laws, regulations, policy and guidelines concerning vertebrate animals used in research and teaching. In addition, the latest versions of Animal Care record keeping and IACUC protocol forms are available for downloading. Finally, information on alternatives searching and links to other animal welfare-related informational sites have been provided. For comments or questions regarding this site contact the Webmaster