Engage in the Exchange of Ideas and Strategies for IACUCs

PRIM&R is now accepting abstracts for the 2010 IACUC Conference Poster Presentations. The goal of the annual poster presentations is to provide a platform for members of the IACUC community to share ideas, information, and practical strategies that solve the many challenges faced by IACUC professionals. A poster presentation is your opportunity to showcase your research or innovative projects to stimulate informal discussion among presenters and conference attendees.

Last year, three of the accepted abstracts were selected for both a poster and oral presentation. These abstracts included:

• Meeting Responsibilities: the Institutional Animal User Education and Training Program at the University of Saskatchewan, which was presented by Amanda Plante, UCACS Education and Training Committee, University of Saskatchewan.
  
  This abstract describes the University of Saskatchewan’s newly implemented training program that “consists of an on-line UCACS animal care course, practical skills training, one-on-one training, documenting education and training, [and] monitoring procedures.” The program was so successful that “effective January 1, 2009, approval of an animal use protocol (new or annual review), by the AREB requires (or is conditional upon) successful completion of the UCACS Animal Care Course by all personnel listed on the protocol, including the principal investigator. Any new personnel added to a currently approved protocol must complete the on-line course before beginning any work with animals[…] Currently, the UCACS Education and Training Committee (ETC) is developing a shortened version of the on-line course that can be completed by licensed veterinarians.” Complete Abstract Available Here

• Random Source (Class B) Dealer Activities: October 31, 2007- November 1, 2008, which was presented by Gary P. Goldberg DVM, DACLAM, USDA/APHIS/Animal Care. This study was implemented in response to an inquiry from the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources.
  
  “This review included sources of acquisition such as from private individuals, municipal pounds or shelters, and from other licensee or registrants. The disposition of these animals was categorized as to individuals, other licensee/registrants, or to research facilities[...] In order to estimate the teaching use of the random source animals, the records of random source dogs and cats were surveyed for campuses where U.S. Medical Colleges, U.S. Veterinary Colleges, and U.S. Veterinary Technician Schools were located. Complete Abstract Available Here

• MONiTOR: Monitoring Of Novartis’ in vivo Techniques, Operations, & Research, which was presented by David DeOrnellis, BS, RLATg, CPIA and Colleen Cody, BS, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc.
  
  This abstract describes the “dynamic and comprehensive program for monitoring compliance of NIBR Cambridge in vivo research. MONiTOR is unique due to the incorporation of all aspects of in vivo research in its scope, including the conductance of technical animal procedures, the operational aspects of vivarium management, and experimental procedures. MONiTOR is a fully integrated system that recognizes the importance of compliance at all levels of in vivo research in ensuring the welfare of the animals used for research at NIBR Cambridge, from husbandry to research-related procedures.” Complete Abstract Available Here
  

Have you recently pursued an innovative approach to improving the management, function, and operations of IACUCs? Or, perhaps you have conducted empirical research on research ethics as it relates to the care and use of laboratory animals?

We encourage you to share your ideas and experiences with your colleagues via a programmatic or scientific poster presentation.

Please visit our website for more information, including guidelines, important dates, and frequently asked questions, and to submit your abstract online.

Awards recap from the 2009 AER Conference

PRIM&R was proud to present three awards at the 2009 Advancing Ethical Research Conference in Nashville.

Designed to honor PRIM&R members who have made valuable contributions to the ethical conduct of research and to enhanced compliance with federal regulations, the Distinguished Service Award was presented to Charlotte Coley, MACT, CIP.

Jeffrey Cohen, PhD, CIP received the ARENA Legacy Award, which was established in 2006 to recognize members who have made outstanding contributions to the goals of PRIM&R by significantly promoting the ethical conduct of research through mentoring, teaching, and leadership.

PRIM&R honored Albert R. Jonsen, MA, with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Research Ethics, presented to those whose work has been seminal, exemplary, and the embodiment of a commitment to advancing research ethics.

Read more about PRIM&R's awards, and our award winners, on our website.

A New Lesson from the Old "Tuskegee" Study

Susan Reverby generously agreed to let us reprint the below Op Ed piece, which was originally published on Race-Talk on December 3, 2009.

"Don’t take the swine flu vaccine. Remember the Tuskegee Experiment Syphilis Vaccine," a recent post on Twitter warns. The message is simple: "Tuskegee," America’s notorious medical research study, is still considered as our own equivalent to Nazi experimentation that links state power to scientific fervor. Nearly forty years after the study ended, the name “Tuskegee” evokes fears of the dangers of government involvement in medical care. But as Congress debates how to provide health coverage for everyone and fear of the swine flu vaccine runs rampant, there is a different critical lesson to take from the infamous medical research project which targeted poor rural African American men and ran unabated for decades.

The accompanying photograph (taken in 1953) shows PHS physicians drawing blood from, not infecting, the Study's unwitting participants.

From 1932 to 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted a study on "untreated syphilis in the male Negro" in Macon County, Alabama in and around the city of Tuskegee. 439 African American men with late stage syphilis were selected as research subjects, and 185 without the disease became the study’s control group. A mostly sexually transmitted disease, syphilis left untreated can cause fatal heart and neurological problems. The men thought of themselves as patients obtaining needed medical care for what was known as “bad blood” from the government’s doctors. The PHS physicians never told these men they were actually research subjects being followed in a "no treatment" study.

Instead, the researchers explained that the aspirins, tonics, and diagnostic spinal taps given were "free treatment." In a county with only 16 doctors whose prices the men could rarely afford, a government program of free care enticed them. The study’s nurse kept visiting the men’s homes and helping them to get medical care for other ills. The study’s subjects and controls were also promised money for decent burials in exchange for the use of their bodies for autopsy after their deaths.

The study was not kept secret. Medical articles charting its progress appeared over the decades, while several health professionals questioned the study’s ethics. In 1972 the research experiment came to an end in a storm of media coverage that brought in federal investigators, a Senate hearing, and a subsequent lawsuit against the PHS, the state of Alabama, and many of the doctors involved.

In "Tuskegee’s" wake, major changes in federal rules governing medical research were established, including written informed consent and the creation of institutional review boards to oversee human subject research. The study also created another legacy—it became the metaphor for the distrust of scientific research, the risks of government provision of medical care, and the exploitation of poor patients.

Rumors and myths about what happened continue to circulate in whispers, blogs and media coverage. Most egregious in the face of the need for H1N1 vaccine is the erroneous claim that the government’s doctors intentionally infected the men with syphilis. But no “Tuskegee experiment syphilis vaccine” was ever created; no shots of the bacteria that cause syphilis were put into the men’s veins.

As the Obama administration takes on the huge task of reforming how we organize and pay for health care for all Americans and we line up for our shots, "Tuskegee" can offer another perhaps less obvious, if ironic, lesson. These men living in rural Alabama came forward for treatment not because they were uneducated and easily duped by their government, but because they needed health care for themselves and their families. They, as with increasing numbers of Americans, had no real access to the medical care they required, could not pay for what was available, and had to find it where possible.

Perhaps as the debate over health care reform winds its way through the Congress, a new post on Twitter should read: "Don’t forget the 'Tuskegee' syphilis study. Everyone deserves the right to affordable health care and this is what our government should and must provide."

Susan M. Reverby is the Marion Butler McLean Professor in the History of Ideas and Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Wellesley College and an historian of American women, medicine and nursing. She became interested in researching the Tuskegee Syphilis Study after seeing a performance of “Miss Evers’ Boys,” the play by David Feldshuh that tells the story of the study from the perspective of its nurse. In 2000, Dr. Reverby edited Tuskegee Truths: Rethinking the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a book of articles and primary documents on the study. Her new book, Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and its Legacy is now available. Please see the following website for more information. http://www.examiningtuskegee.com.

Want to be a CIP or CPIA? Mark your Calendars!

Posted by Emily Butler, program assistant

PRIM&R helps to educate those involved in the administration of human research protection and animal use and welfare programs through two certification programs: Certified Institutional Review Board (IRB) Professional (CIP®) and Certified Professional Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Administrator (CPIA). These two programs improve the quality of human research protection programs and animal care and use programs by promoting ethical practices and advanced knowledge of regulations.

The CIP and CPIA exams will be offered during the following testing periods:

CIP 2010 Exam Dates

Spring Testing Period
Application deadline: January 15, 2010
Exam dates: March 6 through March 20, 2010

Fall Testing Period
Application deadline: August 1, 2010
Exam dates: September 11 through September 25, 2010

CPIA 2010 Exam Dates

Spring Testing Period
Application deadline: March 1, 2010
Exam dates: April 10 through April 24, 2010

Fall Testing Period
Application deadline: September 1, 2010
Exam dates: October 16 through October 30, 2010

Both exams are administered by the Professional Testing Corporation, and are offered at least twice yearly at testing sites across the U.S. and Canada. Locate the testing center nearest to you. For more information, and to determine if you are eligible to sit for an exam, please visit the CIP or CPIA eligibility pages of our website.

In November's Newsletter

The most recent issue of the PRIM&R Newsletter (members only) was distributed yesterday, November 30.

In addition to our regular features, such as Recent Headlines, Government and Legal News, and Public Policy, this issue included…

• A tenth anniversary tribute to Jesse Gelsinger;
• A recap of the 2009 Advancing Ethical Research Conference;
• Information on the 2010 IACUC Conference, including dates, location, and information on submitting an abstract;
• Information about the awards that were presented at the 2009 AER Conference;
• This month’s website feature of the month, PRIM&R’s events calendar;
• Information on the new CPIA recertification guidelines; and
• A featured talk from PRIM&R Through the Years. This month’s feature is a session from the 1996 The Responsibility of Oversight in Genetic Research and Technology Development conference, titled "Medical and Societal Implications of the Human Genome Project."

Can’t find the Newsletter in your inbox? Check out the Newsletter Archives.

Want to become a PRIM&R member? Learn more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

by Joan Rachlin

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” —Cicero

Everyone’s talkin’ turkey these days, and I can’t seem to avoid being besieged by information regarding hot cooking tips. Did you know that:

- Brining is back (it locks in the moisture)?

- Frozen birds often taste better than a fresh one, depending on transit time for the latter?

- The tofurkey craze is not a craze at all? In fact, it’s celebrating its 15^th birthday and sales are skyrocketing.

But who am I fooling? I don’t want to avoid this inundation of turkey tips, because like so many others, I love Thanksgiving! I relish the colorful and delicious meal, enjoy being with family and friends, endure the football watchers who commandeer the living room, and generally appreciate the non-denominational come-on-come-all inclusivity of the day. I wish, though, that the media were as interested in the true meaning of the holiday as they are in the food.

Then again, the questionable symbolism of this holiday goes back to the original Thanksgiving feast when, as the story goes, tolerant and eager-to-learn pilgrims were hosted by the American Indians, who welcomed the newcomers. When myths underlie the meaning of any tradition, the foundations tend to be shaky, and so it is with the rosier-than-real message of Thanksgiving.

But how do we begin to change the message and expand the meaning of this day? We each must decide what the holiday means to us as individuals, but we can rely on some old and trusted guideposts to help show us the way. Would you believe that the Belmont principles are apt here, too? They really do have wide application, no?

First, we can respect the hardships and losses of both the pilgrims and the American Indians, as well as those of the many other immigrants and indigenous people the world over. We can similarly honor and respect the courage of President Abraham Lincoln, who declared Thanksgiving to be a national holiday in the midst of the Civil War; he understood that healing and reconciliation could best be advanced through an expression of gratitude for blessings large and small.

Beneficence is the second Belmont principle, and in its simplest form, means “being kind” and “doing good.” This is where the “thanks” come in, as each of us has benefitted from people who have “done good” on our behalf. In human subjects research, I have been struck by the manner in which some institutions and individuals actively care about and for the subjects. Similarly, some of PRIM&R’s IACUC professionals have told me about their annual ceremonies honoring the animals that make research possible.

Justice is the final principle, and this is the easiest one to apply to Thanksgiving. One of the most iconic Thanksgiving symbols is the horn of plenty, which symbolizes abundance of the harvest, and we can best embody the meaning of justice by ensuring that our abundance and wealth, both as individuals and as a society, are shared with those who are less fortunate.

The core principles that underlie the Belmont Report are rooted in the human condition. We are all connected, and can only get by with a lot of help from our friends and family (apologies to the Beatles).

So I end this Thanksgiving missive as I end so many of my thoughts and writings… I am grateful, really, really grateful, for this community of ours. I am grateful for the fact that you are committed to living your professional lives with ethics as the guiding star. I am grateful for my family, my friends, my co-workers, my neighbors, my healthcare-givers, and for those unseen, unheard individuals who do the things that make my comfort and joy possible.

We all have so much to be thankful for. They say that one of the secrets of life is wanting what you have, rather than having what you want, and a corollary of that truism is that what we want is not always what we need. I hope to work ever harder to give thanks for blessings large and small in my life and in PRIM&R’s organizational life. Each of you is on our list of people for whom we are thankful at this season of thanks giving and always!

Enjoy every morsel and mouthful!

Council Announces CPIA Recertification Guidelines

In 2007, PRIM&R launched its certification program for IACUC professionals known as the Certified Professional IACUC Administrator (CPIA) credential. The certification process was developed to improve the quality of animal care and use programs by promoting ethical practices and advanced knowledge of IACUC administration.

Since its inception, CPIA has grown steadily. There are currently 164 CPIAs in the country and the number of exam applicants rises steadily. Since the CPIA certification period is five years, early CPIA-certified individuals have been asking about the requirements for recertification. After a thoughtful deliberation process, the CPIA Council, the committee that oversees the CPIA credential standards, released the CPIA Recertification Guidelines.

To maintain certification, a CPIA must recertify every five years from the time of the most recent certification. Recertification may always be achieved by successfully retaking the CPIA examination. However, CPIAs also have the option to recertify by completing certain professional development and continuing education activities as described in the Recertification Guidelines.

Why recertify or sit for the CPIA exam for the first time?

The CPIA credential…

• Demonstrates the certified IACUC professional’s high level of dedication to IACUC administration as a profession.
• Provides potential career advancement opportunities.
• Validates the holder’s knowledge of his or her field.
• Strengthens the profession by providing an established body of relevant knowledge and national standards of practice in IACUC administration.

For more detailed information, please download the CPIA Recertification Guidelines or the CCPIA Policies and Procedures Manual.