FAQ’s

The following steps must be completed before animal work can begin (these two steps can be done in any order:

1. Take the animal care and use online training on MyLearning under “Animal Care and Use”. You will need a JHED ID to access the course. Print out the certificate of successful completion and email it to [email protected].
2. Enroll in the Animal Exposure Surveillance Program (AESP) through Occupational Health Services at https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hse/offices-programs/aesp. Submit the certificate of enrollment by email to [email protected]. NOTE– The verification of enrollment you send to us is different from the online training required by Occupational Health on MyLearning (do not send us the MyLearning Certificate from the Occupational Health module).

The certificates for the online training and AESP need to accompany either a protocol or personnel amendment (see below).

If you are a new Principal Investigator you will need to submit an animal protocol using the form “Animal Care and Use New Protocol/Third Year Renewal Form” found on our website at animalcare.jhu.edu/forms. Fill out the form and submit it to the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) via email at [email protected].

If you are a new lab member working with animals, you will need to be added to an approved protocol using the “Change in Personnel” form on our website. You must be on an approved protocol before you can obtain access to animal facilities. Submit the completed personnel amendment form along with verification that you have taken the Animal Care and Use online training through MyLearning and the AESP certificate of enrollment to the ACUC office to [email protected].

All campuses:

• Be on an approved animal protocol
• Take online facility access training “Working in the Rodent Vivarium” through MyLearning
• Take any additional required training specific for the area in which you will be working

For access to East Baltimore:

• Obtain facility access form appropriate to the building for which you need access. Forms are found on the RAR website at https://researchanimalresources.jhu.edu/forms/
• Obtain departmental or supervisory approval signature
• Obtain the appropriate animal facility supervisor signature. You must have completed the facility and online training to receive this signature (see form for details)
• Obtain sign-off stamp from the Animal Care and Use Committee office. If indicated submit completed form(s) to [email protected] (Note- for access to CRB sign-off from the ACUC office is required before facility training can begin)

For access to Homewood (Ames, Dunning, Krieger, Levi/Mudd and UTL:

• Take the required online facility training course and email certificate of completion to the Vivarium supervisor
• Take in-person facility training
• Once completed, the Vivarium supervisor will notify the badge access office that the requirements have been fulfilled

NOTE– This applies to rodents only. For species other than rodents, the Principal Investigator is responsible for granting access.

For access to All Children’s Hospital:

• Be added as personnel to an approved ACUC protocol and send the personnel approval amendment to the ACH Vivarium team email
• Complete online facility training through MyLearning and send certificate of completion to ACH vivarium team email
• Complete JHACH Animal Facility access training
• Once the above step have been completed, ACH Vivarium leadership will grant card key access by requesting it through the ACH employee badge office

All personnel must enroll in the Animal Exposure Surveillance Program through the Occupational Health office, complete the on-line Animal Care and Use Training course and be on an approved animal protocol before ACUC approval to work with animals. Each animal facility may have additional training requirements to fulfill before allowing access to the facility.

Rodent Handling and Small Animal Surgery in-person workshops, and informational online seminars covering various topics are available throughout the year. See this website under “Training” for the schedule.

Customized handling and procedural training can be arranged for individuals by emailing members of the Training and Compliance staff directly at [email protected].

Mouse Breeding and Colony Management classes are offered regularly.

Consult the ACUC website for additional information on training opportunities.

Research Animal Resources (RAR) oversees daily care of the animals and houses the veterinary care program. The Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) is responsible for protocol/amendment review and approval, inspections, and compliance with regulatory agencies.

A protocol needs to be submitted if you will be conducting research for which you need to obtain live animals.

Only persons with a faculty rank can be a PI. Any qualified member of JHU can be a Co-Investigator.

Protocols are due the 1st business day of each month to be reviewed in that month. For 3rd year replacements the due date is the 1st business day of the month prior to the month of expiration (i.e., a protocol that expires 7/1 is due by the first business day of June).

Changes in personnel are handled administratively and do not have a specific due date.

A full application must be submitted every 3 years.

Reminders for protocol renewals are sent out by email to the PI ninety days prior to the expiration date.

If the PI has animals on a protocol but does not renew the protocol by the expiration date then the animals will be transferred to a holding protocol under the direction of Research Animal Resources (RAR). The PI and associated lab staff may have access to the animals restricted and no experimental activities will be allowed until a replacement protocol is submitted and approved. In some cases (e.g., federally funded research), an alternative funding source may need to be utilized for animal care during the period when the animals are on the holding protocol.

All animals requested in the approved protocol are placed in a database for the three year period that the protocol is valid. Additional animals can be added by submitting a Change in Procedures or Numbers amendment form that will then be reviewed by the ACUC.

Because this is a privileged communication, correspondence can only be sent to the PI. It is the PI’s responsibility to give copies of protocols, amendments, etc. to staff or persons needing them.

Once a new protocol, renewal, or amendment has been approved, a copy of the approval letter together with the approved version is mailed to the PI.

If these items are received in the ACUC office on or before the first business day of any given month, they will be put on the agenda for the meeting that month which takes place the third Thursday of that month. If the protocol or amendment is perfectly written it may be approved at the meeting. If additional information is needed, the PI will be asked to revise the protocol or amendment. The reviewer then re-reviews the new submission and if all the issues are adequately addressed the protocol will then be approved.

All current forms used by the ACUC are found on our website at animalcare.jhu.edu. The forms are frequently updated so always check to make sure you have the latest version of each form.

The protocol or amendment must be emailed to the ACUC office ([email protected]).

The ACUC office ([email protected]) can assist you in locating an appropriate source without having to submit a protocol. However, this request must go through the office to assure that the procedures required to obtain the samples do not represent a deviation from an approved protocol.

If you have already identified a source, it is imperative that any procedure done to the animal is not being performed specifically for your needs but is part of an already approved protocol. For example, tissues could be obtained from animals that were being euthanized by an investigator in accordance with their existing protocol.

Non-USDA species (e.g., purpose-bred rats and mice) can be kept in a laboratory up to 24 h and up to 12 h for USDA-covered species without specific ACUC approval. If animals are kept for longer periods of time, scientific justification needs to be provided and approved by the ACUC. The laboratory will then be inspected by RAR and the ACUC to determine if it meets JHU requirements as a satellite housing facility.

Arrangements for bringing rodents in from another institution need to be made through Research Animal Resources (RAR). Animals from other institutions will be required to have approved health status and may have to undergo a period of quarantine. Detailed information for the proper procedures for import and export of animals can be obtained on the RAR website.

Animals must be transported using designated animal transport routes. If you need more information, please email [email protected]

First, you must register in the state of MD. The registration form for renewals and new applications can be found at: https://egov.maryland.gov/mdh/cds

Second, you must register with the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency. The registration form is found at: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/online_forms_apps.html

For information concerning the ordering of controlled substances at JHU please contact RAR at https://researchanimalresources.jhu.edu/services/clinical-services/obtaining-drugs-for-research-use/

Just in Time is the information that the NIH requests after an application has been reviewed and is in the range for possible funding. If the grant includes the use of animals the awardee will need to provide proof of ACUC approval for the proposed research.

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) contact for your department will ask the awardee to send the grant and protocol numbers that apply to the grant to them. They will then be sent to the ACUC office where qualified personnel in the ACUC office compares the procedures proposed in the grant to those in the protocol.

If the procedures in the grant are significantly different from those in the protocol, the awardee/PI will be contacted to submit an amendment. To facilitate this process, the awardee/PI should do this comparison themselves once they receive the notification from the NIH and submit any amendments for procedures/experiments not included in the protocol. Once the protocol and amendments are found to be congruent with what has been proposed in the grant, the ACUC office signs off on the grant for the ORA. The ORA then sends the information to the NIH.

All grant related issues must go the the Office of Research Administration.