UCLA

I. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

UCLA recognizes that the use of Animals for research, teaching, and testing is fundamental to biology and medicine. Such use is a privilege accompanied by a moral and legal obligation for humane Animal care. UCLA ensures that the housing, feeding, veterinary care, and use of all Animals involved in research, teaching, and testing activities are supervised and conducted by qualified individuals. To that end, UCLA maintains full accreditation with AAALAC International. For more information on the housing, care, and use of research animals at UCLA, contact the Chancellor’s Animal Research Committee (ARC) administrative staff in the UCLA Research Safety & Animal Welfare Administration (RSAWA) or refer to its Web site.

This Policy is applicable to all research, teaching, training, experimentation, biological testing and related activities involving Animals that are conducted at UCLA, or under the direction of any UCLA employee, student, or agent of UCLA. This Policy is applicable regardless of funding sources or location of the activity. This Policy is also applicable to research conducted at another institution as a consequence of subgrants, subcontracts, or any other means of financial support provided by UCLA.

II. DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Policy:

Animal is any live or dead vertebrate animal used or intended for use in research, teaching, testing, experimentation, or related purposes.

Animal Research is the use of Animals for the purpose of advancing scientific knowledge and improving the health and well-being of humans and other Animals.

Animal Research Facilities are any and all buildings, rooms, areas, enclosures, or vehicles, including satellite facilities, used for Animal confinement, transport, maintenance, breeding, or experiments inclusive of surgical manipulation and/or nonsurgical procedures. A satellite facility (also known as a study area) is any containment outside of a core facility or centrally designated or managed area in which USDA-regulated Animal species are housed for periods longer than 12 hours, or in which non-USDA-regulated Animal species are housed for periods longer than 24 hours.

Chancellor’s Animal Research Committee (ARC) is a committee mandated under the Animal Welfare Act and the Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS Policy) to assess and oversee the program of animal care and use at UCLA. The ARC is independent of the IO, who may not overrule an ARC decision to withhold approval of a protocol and is comprised of UCLA faculty experienced in research involving Animals from various scientific disciplines, veterinarians, and non-University-affiliated members whose primary expertise is in a nonscientific area.

Institutional Official (IO) is defined in the Animal Welfare Act and PHS Policy as the individual at a research facility that is authorized legally to commit on behalf of the institution that the facility will meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act and PHS Policy. UCLA DA 255.03 delegates to the Vice Chancellor for Research the authority to act as the IO for ongoing oversight of the Animal Care and Use Program at UCLA.

III. POLICY STATEMENT

UCLA is committed to maintaining the highest standards for the care and use of Animals in research, teaching, and testing. UCLA accepts as mandatory the U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research and Training and has implemented the requirements of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (the Guide). 

Individual researchers and administrators are required to comply with the Animal Welfare Act and Regulations, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as applicable; the PHS Policy, administered by the National Institutes of Health, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (NIH/OLAW); and other applicable State and local statutes and regulations concerning the care and use of Animal subjects. 

Failure to comply with the aforementioned USDA and/or NIH regulations may result in civil or criminal prosecution and withholding of funding for, and suspension of, Animal Research activities.  Failure to comply with this Policy, the Guide, UCLA’s Animal Welfare Assurance, and/or PHS Policy may also result in suspension of individual Animal Research activities.  Faculty serving in the role of a faculty sponsor have an obligation to ensure that both they and any individual working under their authority, who are involved in Animal Research are aware of all applicable policies.

A. Responsibilities

Compliance is a shared responsibility. The Vice Chancellor for Research as Institutional Official, ARC, RSAWA, AV, PIs, and individual researchers work together to ensure that all research, teaching, and testing activities involving the use of Animals conducted at or funded by UCLA are compliant with the PHS Policy, Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, Animal Welfare Act and Regulations, and applicable federal, State, and local regulations. In addition to ensuring compliance with this Policy and all appropriate guidelines, laws, and regulations, the following individuals, offices, and committees have the following responsibilities:

Vice Chancellor for Research

Institutional responsibility for compliance with Animal welfare regulations and policies has been delegated by the Chancellor to the Vice Chancellor for Research as Institutional Official, who:

• is charged with the overall administrative responsibility for developing and maintaining an effective, integrated campus-wide Animal care and use program to ensure that all humane, ethical, and legal requirements are met;
   
• appoints the members of the Chancellor’s Animal Research Committee (ARC);
   
• reviews records of semiannual ARC reports and recommendations, and submits annual reports regarding the Animal care and use program to NIH/OLAW.

Chancellor’s Animal Research Committee (ARC)

The ARC has the authority to review and approve, require modifications to, or withhold approval of all Animal Research, teaching, or testing conducted under the auspices of UCLA. The ARC is responsible for:

• overseeing UCLA’s Animal care and use program, related facilities and procedures;
   
• reviewing proposals involving the use of Animals to ensure compliance with federal and institutional regulations and policies, and that all proposed activities are consistent with current standards of veterinary medical and  nursing practices and care;
   
• performing semiannual and routine inspections of UCLA’s Animal Research Facilities, including vivaria, surgical facilities, investigators’ laboratories and study areas;
   
• evaluating UCLA’s Animal care and use program semiannually, and forwarding reports and recommendations to the Institutional Official; and
   
• investigating allegations of mistreatment of Animals or other incidents of noncompliance with federal regulations. The ARC is authorized to suspend any activity involving the use of Animals if that activity is found to be noncompliant with any federal regulation or policy.

The PHS Policy requires the ARC to approve activities involving Animals as proposed in PHS and NSF grant applications before monies can be expended.  Failure to comply with this Policy and any other applicable policies, laws, and regulations may result in termination of PHS, HHS, and/or NSF support for all projects which involve Animals.  In order to meet statutory requirements, the ARC has instituted a mandatory training and certification program for investigators and other individuals who wish to use Animals for research, teaching, and/or testing, and periodically conducts workshops for the purpose of informing investigators of changes in regulatory requirements and to provide assistance with the review process.

Office of Research Administration (ORA), Research Safety & Animal Welfare Administration (RSAWA)

Reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Office of Research Administration is the campus organization responsible for overseeing the central administrative operations required to support use of Animals in research, teaching, and testing activities at UCLA. Within ORA, the RSAWA ARC administrative staff acts as the administrative support body for the ARC at UCLA and is responsible for:

• filing an Animal Welfare Assurance with NIH/OLAW in accordance with the PHS Policy in order to receive PHS, HHS, and/or NSF funds for Animal Research;
   
• reporting incidents of noncompliance to OLAW, and suspension of Animal activities to the USDA, through the IO;
   
• receiving and logging all protocols involving Animals and conducting a preliminary review of these materials;
   
• verifying completion of the mandatory certification training courses required for all individuals that will work with Animals, as appropriate;
   
• reviewing all applications to ensure that rooms listed as Animal Research Facilities are approved by the ARC for the stated purpose;
   
• scheduling and attending semiannual and routine facility inspections, and advising investigators and facility managers of the ARC’s findings regarding compliance with standards for Animal Research Facilities set forth in the Animal Welfare Act and the Guide;
   
• keeping investigators informed of decisions made with regard to their proposals, and assisting them with administrative processes; and
   
• providing continuing education and advising the ARC members, researchers, and other University officials/departments when interpretation of federal regulations is needed.

Attending Veterinarian (AV)

The UCLA Attending Veterinarian (AV) is a member of the ARC, serves as the professional advisor on all veterinary matters at UCLA, and reports to the Vice Chancellor for Research on all matters relating to the campus-wide Animal care and use program. The AV is responsible for exercising professional judgment in all matters related to Animal acquisition, care, and use. The AV or their designee reviews protocols involving procedures that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress prior to the initiation of any project or activity involving Animals and provides veterinary surveillance over all Animals and related facilities at UCLA. The AV also serves as the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DLAM) Executive Director and is responsible for the daily care of all research Animals housed in the centrally managed vivaria, assignment of housing and procedure space within the vivaria, and per diem rate setting in accordance with the NIH’s Cost Analysis and Rate Setting Manual for Animal Research Facilities.

Principal Investigators

The Principal Investigator (PI) of an Animal protocol is the individual responsible for oversight and conduct of all Animal activities performed under that protocol approval. The PI must submit an application to the ARC for review and approval before initiating, modifying, or extending any project involving the use of Animal subjects.

The PI for an animal protocol must either meet the criteria for PI eligibility as defined in UCLA Policy 900 or identify on the application and include in the project a faculty sponsor who meets the criteria to serve as a PI. Exceptions to this requirement are described in UCLA Policy 900.

Individual Researchers

Individual researchers who use Animals in their research, teaching, and testing (including field work involving such Animals) are responsible for conforming to the federal, State, and local regulations, this Policy and any other policies governing Animal use.  Such responsibilities include:

• the acquisition, care and use of Animals;
   
• efforts to minimize Animal pain and distress;
   
• training of individuals using Animals; and
   
• consideration of alternatives to Animal use.

Participation by researchers in the general certification and species-specific training program and enrollment in the occupational health and safety program prior to initiating contact with live Animals is a minimum requirement.  Submission and approval of an Application to Use Animal Subjects in Research and/or Teaching via UCLA’s online Research Application Tracking System (RATS) is also required prior to any research, teaching, or testing use of Animals.

B. Acquisition, Housing and Record Keeping

Unless otherwise authorized by the ARC, all arrangements for the acquisition and housing of Animals from any source must be made through the UCLA Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DLAM).  Arrangements for housing must be made before a purchase order for Animals will be placed. Animals may not be purchased or otherwise acquired until a fully approved protocol is on file. Investigators are responsible for informing veterinary staff in writing regarding Animals requiring special care, equipment or supplies, or special permits.

The Animal Welfare Act and the PHS Policy require appropriate identification of Animals and maintenance of their records.  Investigators are responsible for keeping appropriate records of Animals not regulated by the USDA, while investigators and DLAM have a shared responsibility to maintain individual clinical records for USDA-regulated Animal species.  Records must be maintained for 3 years following completion of the study and are subject to inspection by the USDA, NIH site visitors, and AAALAC representatives.

IV. REFERENCES:

1. UCLA Research Safety & Animal Welfare (RSAWA) Animal Research Committee (ARC) website;   

2. UC Policy on the Use of Animals in Research and Teaching, issued on October 14, 1984;

3. Animal Welfare Act, as Amended (7 USC, 2131-2156);

4. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9, Chapter 1, Subchapter A (Animal Welfare Act Regulations);

5. U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training, 1985;

6. National Research Council (NRC) Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (also known as the Guide), 2011;

7. Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care & Use of Laboratory Animals, revised August 2015; 

8. AAALAC International;

9. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and University of Caliofornia, Los Angeles, with Regard to Collaboration on the Use of Animals in Research, January 1, 2018;

10. UCLA Animal Welfare Act Assurance, 2018.