Animal Research CUE Sheet - 07.08.2025
July 08, 2025
A bi-monthly (ish) communication with important information to keep you right on cue!
FY 25-26 | Issue 1
Although summertime is often equated with rest and relaxation, we acknowledge that many in our community are busier than ever with research, fieldwork, and other commitments. As the fall semester approaches, we feel it is important to update you with upcoming changes and key reminders.
Updates
Update on Summer and Fall Meeting Dates
In our May issue we sent you some reminders for summertime animal care and a list of summer and fall IACUC meeting dates. As a reminder, there is no IACUC Meeting in August! We will use our Designated Member Review process for amendments, renewals, and certain other types of protocols, but if you are designing a new and/or complex protocol, please note that the submission will likely be reviewed at our September meeting.
All of our planned summer holidays have passed, and there is one minor update to our meeting schedule: The September 18th meeting will be held in person on the UMD campus. This should have minimal impact for our researchers as the meeting is business as usual, but this is a reminder for our IACUC members that they should plan to meet in person that morning.
Spring Inspections
Our spring inspections occurred over the month of April and we have been able to conduct a program review to identify action items and areas where we can improve. Generally speaking, our program has improved over the last 2 years thanks to the cooperation and attentiveness of our phenomenal research community! With enhanced data analysis and communications, we are also able to identify trends and brainstorm ways to better assist our researchers even further. We are implementing changes to the following:
Floor Drain Maintenance in Aquatic/Bird Facilities
In an attempt to mitigate pest concerns and facilities-related issues, Jason Lurie will be reaching out to evaluate drain function in your facilities.
Training
DLAR Training: If DLAR Staff is training you for the first time, you'll only be trained on the procedures listed in your Personnel Qualification Form (PQF) or directly related to your approved research protocol. If you want training on any other animal procedures, you'll need to schedule a separate training session at a later time. Training on other topics does not constitute IACUC approval for you to perform those tasks. The protocol must be amended by the PI to include any new procedures you will perform.
Animal User and Occ Health Database: Using our own registry for PI/Animal User Training and a monthly report from UHC, we have created a database to more closely monitor occupational health enrollment and expiration dates for lab personnel. Prior to inspections, we will be able to audit each lab and notify the PI who is associated with their lab and their status for training and occupational health enrollment. Our aim is to reduce administrative burden for the investigators to correct issues identified during inspections.
PI-managed Animal Housing Census Entries
We are in the process of creating an online data entry system with easy access for our PI’s who manage their own animal housing areas. We will work with each lab to create a custom spreadsheet, and once established, census updates will be required at the beginning of each month.
Physical Plant Work Order Submission
During the spring inspection cycle, a new system was rolled out for submitting work requests. In the future, all requests will need to be submitted to Facilities Services Central (https://umdcpready.assetworks.cloud/ready/). We will no longer ask for estimated dates of completion from the PI to satisfy the resolution to their finding, and our FM liaisons will develop a way to check the status of these requests.
Transition to Kuali
Earlier this month you might have seen an announcement from Joe Smith and the IRB Office regarding their shift away from IRBnet to Kuali Build. Aligning with campus support and other groups on campus, we will also be planning a shift to Kuali Build for Animal Study Protocols in the future. We have been planning for over 6 months already and have initiated a process for form-building. Our plan for a Go-Live date is Fall/Winter 2027. We will be developing a roll-out plan in the next weeks and are hoping to work with our stakeholders to preview and test some features as we finish drafting the form.
Other Reminders
- A version of these emails and other important announcements are now archived on the IACUC website “News & Announcements” page for your reference.
- DLAR and the UAV would like to remind you to submit all animal health logs when appropriate to dlar@umd.edu.
- We would also like to remind all PI’s who manage their own animal housing areas to send all census numbers to this Box Folder. This is especially important as we move into a new fiscal year.
Summer 2025 PI/Animal User Training Dates
New PI/Animal User Training is required for all new PIs, students, assistants, etc., who will work directly with animals. This includes all handling, husbandry, procedures, transportation, etc.
Click here to register for NEW PI/Animal User Training
Refresher PI/Animal User Training is required every 3 years in order to continue working with animals.
Click here to register for REFRESHER PI/Animal User Training
| New PI/Animal User Training Dates: | Refresher PI/Animal User Training Dates: |
|---|---|
| July 8, 2025 at 10 am | July 24, 2025 at 9 am |
| July 16, 2025 at 2 pm | August 4, 2025 at 2:30 pm |
| July 24, 2025 at 12 pm | August 21, 2025 at 8 am |
| July 31, 2025 at 1 pm | |
| August 6, 2025 at 10 am | |
| August 15, 2025 at 12 pm | |
| August 21, 2025 at 11 am | |
| August 27, 2025 at 3 pm |
Dates and times are subject to change/cancellation.