UAMS’s animal care and use program is based on having an engaged Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Compliance Office, Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DLAM), and campus researchers. DLAM leads this effort by providing a full-service research support entity.
Currently, DLAM has three laboratory animal trained veterinarians, as well as 12 husbandry techs to support the research community. The husbandry techs are well trained by the managerial staff, as well as being certified by the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS). UAMS’s animal care and use program is one of only 1000 programs achieving accreditation status by AAALAC International (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care). They are also licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and maintain an Assurance of Compliance with the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), a component of the Public Health Service.
DLAM partners with campus investigators to provide the best possible care for study animals. DLAM maintains several animal housing facilities that specialize in breeding, quarantine, BSL2, and conventional areas. They provide husbandry and technical expertise while monitoring welfare, enrichment, and humane endpoints. Their goal is to provide specific pathogen-free (SPF) study animals for principal investigators in a research conducive environment.