Guidance for Researchers with Study Areas
The welfare of animals must be maintained. If a lab is responsible for the housing and care of their animals, separate from or in coordination with DLAM, review the lab’s current emergency plan and consider how it will be carried out should there be a period of time where the lab is operating with less-than-normal levels of personnel, or in the event that UCLA curtails operations.
All Study Areas should have back-up personnel in place should the primary staff member be unable to perform their duties. In the absence of a designated back-up, the PI is ultimately responsible for the care of animals in their Study Area and must ensure that, minimally, food and water is provided. DLAM cannot guarantee that staff will be available on short-notice; however, with enough time to plan, DLAM may be able to provide some resources to care for your animals. Contact DLAM as soon as possible for more information: DLAM Emergency Phone Tree 310-825-2200 or jreeves@mednet.ucla.edu.
FAQs
Q: I have a protocol under review with NIH funding ready to be released as soon as ARC approval is issued. Will there be a delay in the ARC review process?
A: Despite performing operations remotely, the ARC and ARC administrative staff are fully able to perform all business operations required for the review and approval of animal subjects protocols.
Q: Is the ARC still performing currently scheduled inspections?
A: In order to stay on our 6-month inspection schedule, the ARC administrative staff may reach out to researchers to determine whether they have the bandwidth to proceed with scheduled inspections. Alternative approaches to in-person inspections may be considered, including the use of video and/or review of records. OLAW and the USDA are in the process of providing guidance to the animal research community regarding mandated semi-annual facility inspections.
Q: I received ARC approval. Does that mean my experiments are considered essential and may proceed despite the ramp down?
A: No. ARC approval does not supersede any campus or department instructions to ramp down or terminate research. Requests to continue essential experiments must be submitted to your department chair or dean no later than March 20 for immediate consideration.
Submit your questions to arc@research.ucla.edu.
