Laboratory Animal Use

All laboratory animal work at the University of Maryland Baltimore must be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). All work involving the use of infectious agents, recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules, or human materials in animals must also be approved by the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). 

As the IACUC withholds their final approval until the IBC protocol is approved, it is highly recommended that submission to the IBC be concurrent or before submission to the IACUC to minimize any potential delays.

The University has put into effect a Laboratory Animal Occupational Health Program, which is designed to protect the health of both personnel and laboratory animals.  Part of this program involves the completion of a medical questionnaire: Laboratory Animal Exposure Risk Assessment Form.  

Use of Human-Derived Materials in Animals:

Preparation and administration of any human materials (such as blood, cells, or tissue) into animals will be conducted at ABSL-2. Similarly, subsequent procedures such as necropsy or tumor removal in which personnel could be exposed to unfixed human materials will be conducted at ABSL-2. 

Animal housing post administration with human materials will be determined by the Biosafety Office utilizing a risk assessment. This can be initiated through email (points of contact on the Biosafety page) or through the CICERO protocol. Factors affecting the risk assessment include, but may not limited to:

  • Availability of screening results showing that the material is free of known bloodborne pathogens, particularly HIV and HBV,
  • Animal’s immune status, and
  • Presence of other infectious agents in the animal.
Administration to Animals Housing Necropsy/Tumor Removal
ABSL-2 To Be Determined ABSL-2

In general, animals engrafted with immortalized cell lines known to be free of bloodborne pathogens will be housed at ABSL-1 while animals receiving primary, unscreened materials will be housed at ABSL-2. The Biosafety Office reserves the right to alter these recommendations based on the risk assessment.

If the Principal Investigator or Veterinary Resources wishes to challenge the housing biosafety level determination, this appeal will be voted upon by the Institutional Biosafety Committee at a convened meeting.

 

Additional Information: