ACS - Archived Newsletters - Issue 3

February 2025

Index

Scientific Merit Review
Pedagogical Merit Review
Compassion Resilience Project
Conducting Animal Research on Farms or other External Facilities
Winter 2025 Training Schedule
New training video to support the rodent asepsis SOP
New Stereotaxic Surgery Workshop
AUP Approval Timelines
Mary Fowler Retirement

Happy New Year from Animal Care Services

With the first newsletter of the new year, we want to take a moment to thank our research and animal care community for your unwavering dedication and hard work. The care and attention you give to the animals is deeply appreciated and plays a vital role in fostering a culture of compassion at U of G. We look forward to continued collaboration in 2025, supporting your animal-based research while enhancing the well-being of the animals you work with.

As highlighted below, ACS is focused on developing our training program, offering more training sessions, and introducing specialized technical workshops. We will also continue to provide support to all research personnel submitting AUPs through our AUP help drop-in sessions, all while working toward our goal of reducing AUP turn-around times.

ACS, in collaboration with the ACC Chair, is actively working to recruit additional members for our mandatory institutional committee that oversees the use of animals in research and teaching. If you know of any colleagues or friends who might be interested in joining, especially in roles such as faculty non-users or community representatives, please feel free to suggest their names.

A meeting with many people sitting around a room

ACS Highlights

Scientific Merit Review

Research projects with animals must undergo two reviews: 1) an independent, expert peer review of the scientific merit of a proposal (SMR); 2) a review whether the proposed animal use is acceptable, and the animal-based methods are appropriate (ACC). To improve efficiency, the two review processes run concurrently, e.g. the initial administrative and veterinary prereviews of the AUP are typically performed directly when ACS receives your AUP submission. If it is evident that your SMR was not completed during a funding application process, your project will be sent for an internal SMR. SMRs are administrated outside of ACS, and therefore, if you have questions regarding the SMR process, please review the AUP ancillary requirements and direct all inquiries to smr-pmr@uoguelph.ca. Your AUP will not be brought to an ACC meeting for review and approval without confirmed scientific merit of your project.

Pedagogical Merit Review

Teaching projects and educational courses using live animals must similarly undergo a merit review prior to the AUP goes to ACC. A Pedagogical Merit Review Committee, administered outside of ACS, decides if your teaching project using live animal has pedagogical merit. As PI you must complete and submit a Pedagogical Merit Form and respond to questions regarding learning outcomes, assessment methods and replacement alternatives. For Curriculum courses, a shorter form may be filed. Please refer to the Guideline for Pedagogical Merit Review of Animal-Based Teaching for more details and direct all inquiries to smr-pmr@uoguelph.ca. Your AUP will not reach final stage of review and ACC approval without confirmed pedagogical merit of your course.

General News

ACC

New Members Needed! The ACC is looking for community representatives and institutional personnel not involved in animal-based activities to join the committee. Click above to find out more!

Compassion Resilience Project

Are you a member of the animal care and use community on campus? Are you feeling fatigue, emotional distress or burn-out to compassionate caring? The Compassion and Resilience Project is now launched as an on-campus resource that has a focus on fostering a culture of compassion resiliency, and we invite you to join us for some fun events with out community. For more information, please visit our page on the Wellness@Work website Compassion Resilience Project: Support for the animal care and use community!, Wellness@Work or contact us at compassioncrc@uoguelph.ca

Upcoming Events
February 12 - Outdoor excursion
March 13 - Coffee hour

Conducting Animal Research on Farms or other External Facilities

Please be reminded that an AUP is required when you conduct research at sites external to University of Guelph facilities, e.g. a commercial livestock farm, a contract research facility, an animal shelter, or in the wild. An AUP is also mandatory when your animal-based research is at another institution, in another province, or with animals outside of Canada. For more details, please contact acc@uoguelph.ca.

Training

Please refer to the Facility Orientation and Workshop Schedule page on the Animal User Training Program website for all training schedules. For specific guidance on what training you require to work with or care for animals at U of G, contact us at training@uoguelph.ca.

Winter 2025 Training Schedule

New training video to support rodent asepsis SOP

As a follow-up to the ongoing implementation of SOP.ACS.818.Asepsis for rodent survival surgery, ACS has developed a training resource to illustrate the new expectations. This training video is available or on Courselink for users registered in the Rodent Surgery Workshop. A link is also available within the SOP.

New Stereotaxic Surgery Workshop

A Stereotaxic Surgery Workshop has been developed and is being offered through the Animal User Training Program. The workshop will be required for all new surgeons planning to perform stereotaxic surgery as part of their research on an approved AUP. This workshop will cover stereotaxic frame operation, animal positioning, ear bar placement, landmarking, dental cement mixing and other basic principles of stereotaxic surgery in rodents. The Rodent Surgery and Rodent Anesthesia workshops are prerequisites to complete this hands-on workshop. Contact us at training@uoguelph.ca for more details.

AUPs

AUP help drop-in sessions held every Wednesday from 1:00-2:30pm in-person with ACS or virtually on Teams. Check out the Interactive Support Sessions for Researchers page for more information.

AUP Approval Timeframes

The ACC acknowledges the importance of timely approval of new AUP submissions and those being amended. Through increased ACS staffing and ongoing process refinements, the timelines for AUP approval have shortened. It is standard practice that minor amendments are approved within 24hrs. Major amendments and new protocols require review of the full ACC [Guideline 14 - Major and Minor Amendments]. Generally, PIs can expect an initial administrative review of their protocol by ACS within 5 business days of submission. Once initial administrative items have been addressed, AUPs are scheduled for the next available ACC meeting. Veterinary pre-review questions are typically sent out to PIs in advance of the ACC meeting, so that the PI responses from this review may inform the ACC meeting. To better understand where your protocol is within the review process reach out to the ACS office at acc@uoguelph.ca.

Community Spotlight

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations, thanks, and best wishes to Mary Fowler, Manager of the University’s Campus Animal Facilities, who is retiring after nearly 40 years of dedicated service to the University of Guelph.

Mary began her journey at U of G in 1986 as a research technician in the Department of Pathobiology and took on the role of managing the Central Animal Facility in 1995.

Throughout her career, Mary has earned numerous accolades, including receiving the Charles River Canada Award in 2012 and being named a Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Science (CALAS) Member of Distinction in 2022.

Mary’s unique and impactful presence will be greatly missed by many at U of G, but we wish her all the best as she embarks on new adventures.

It's a Joly Holiday with Mary - created by Martha Manning

To have your work or a fun photo of your animals highlighted, share it with us. Each issue will include one submission as we champion our community and the amazing animals that make our work possible.