AWEN Partners Again with MSMR on Harmonization of IACUCs-IBCs-IRBs

In June 2006, partnering with the Massachusetts Society for Medical Research (MSMR), The AWEN Group presented a groundbreaking two-day international conference -- BRINGING THE "I's" TOGETHER: Toward IACUC, IBC and IRB Harmonization -- that opened a dialogue on common ground areas among these three vital institutional committees.

The dialogue continued on June 14-15, 2007 with the second annual AWEN-MSMR BRINGING THE "I's" TOGETHER conference.

More than 150 attendees from the U.S. and Canada came to hear presentations from an international conference faculty:

  • Internationally renowned medical ethicist Michael Goodyear of Dalhousie University (Bench to Bedside: Opportunities for Advancing Ethical Review);
  • Dr. Ashok Batra of FDA-CBER (Risk Assessments and Evaluations in Human Clinical Trials);
  • Drs. Miriam Kelty and Alan Price (Confronting Issues in Research Integrity);
  • Richard D’Augusta of e-Medicus (Data Sharing and Cyber Security); and
  • Dr. John Frangioni of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Harvard Medical School.

Breakout sessions included:

  • IACUC Function: The AAALAC Perspective;
  • State of the IBC: Process vs. Function;
  • AAHARP Accreditation: Going for the Gold;
  • How to Design an IACUC Training Program;
  • Training Your IBC for Today's Problems;
  • Participant Compensation: Morals, Money & Medical Research;
  • Designing Best Practices for Animal Care & Use Compliance;
  • Post-approval Compliance for IBCs;
  • Compliance Training for the 3I's: Team-building or Turf Wars?
  • Post-approval Compliance: Is It Much Ado about Something... or Nothing;
  • The Realities of IBC Review;
  • Integrating the 3I's;
  • Policy 15: When Regulations Meet Reality;
  • Technical Options for Effective Automation and Post Approval Compliance; and
  • Effective IRB Review Process and Assessing Post Approval Compliance.

To be added to the electronic announcement list for the annual BRINGING THE "I's" TOGETHER conference, send a request to info@theawengroup.com.



AWEN Helps Develop Newton, MA Animal Response Team

AWEN Principal Michele Cunneen is a participant in the development of the Newton, MA, Animal Rsponse Team (NMART). Animal Response Teams (ARTs) are mandated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which stipulates that all communities must have plans in place to assist animals in the event of disasters. Michele's expertise in large-scale laboratory animal facility operations has made AWEN's participation in this community effort a natural fit. AWEN is currently assisting NMART to develop its core functions, plans and procedures and to recruit and train NMART team members from within the Newton community.

To discuss the development of DHS-mandated animal response teams in your community, contact The AWEN Group at mcunneen@theawengroup.com or by phone at 888.770.2936.

ATOP IV Advances Assessment and Treatment of Animal Pain and Distress

In February 2007, AWEN held the 4th in its annual conference series Assessment and Treatment of Pain and Distress in Animals (ATOP) at the Millennium Bostonian Hotel in Boston, MA. ATOP IV concentrated on moving beyond broad objectives for assessment and treatment of pain and distress in animal care and use programs to establish new best practices.

ATOP IV faculty provided participants with the latest guidance on new approaches to avoiding or reducing pain and distress (Steven M. Niemi, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA); recognizing, assessing and alleviating painful stimuli in laboratory fish colonies (Keith Astrofsky, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA); immunologic aspects of veterinary analgesia and anesthesia (Alicia Z. Karas, DVM, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton MA); whether or not to use CO2 euthanasia (David B. Morton, PhD, BVSc, MRCVS, CBiol, FlBiol, DipECLAM, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom); options for nonpharmacologic pain control (Sara Savage); the analgesic effect of acupressure and acupuncture in animal models (John F. Trentini, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD); and operant conditioning to alleviate stress (Marie Waitkevich, CVT, Helping Hands Monkey Helpers for the Disabled).



AWEN Disaster Planning Conference a Great Success

"I have to tell you that day-and-a-half was probably the best conference I have ever attended. The speakers kept my attention all the way through and the topics were all right on."

- AWEN disaster planning conference participant

With its September 2006 national conference, Surviving the Unthinkable: Rethinking Animal Research Disaster Planning for Today's Realities, The AWEN Group was the first to re-examine disaster planning for animal research facilities in light of extreme weather events and manmade disasters experienced over the last several years. Held at Salem, Massachusetts' historic Hawthorne Hotel, the conference addressed general preparedness for disaster with a special focus on building relationships and effective communications before and during an event.

Victoria Hampshire, Senior Regulatory Veterinarian and Reviewer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, discussed the systems infrastructure breakdowns that occurred with animal rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina and the lessons to be learned for all animal-related disaster planning. Based on firsthand experiences with Hurricane Katrina, Lynell Dupepe, Assistant Vivarium Director at Tulane University Health Science Center in New Orleans, spoke about turning a paper disaster plan into a living document with real world relevance, giving specific attention to euthanasia, evacuation, cryopreservation and resumption of business. Speaking in tandem with Ms. Dupepe, Sheila Garrison, IACUC Program Manager at Tulane University, discussed business continuity and records access for the IACUC. John Donaho, Associate Director of the Animal Resources Center at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, focused on how to continue business when central services are down, including vendor and law enforcement communications. Bhavesh Patel, Director of Information Security at Genzyme Corporation, spoke about information security as it relates to disaster planning, and Randall Larsen, President of The FWA Group addressed practical aspects of integrating disaster planning into facility design. Law enforcement representatives discussed animal rights terrorism and the need for incorporating such activity into disaster planning. Finally, a tabletop exercise led by Donaho and AWEN's Michele Cunneen provided hands-on, interactive reinforcement of speaker presentations.

To receive an announcement of the next Surviving the Unthinkable conference, send a request to info@theawengroup.com.



AWEN Introduces Animal Facility Design to Boston Society of Architects

Beginning in September 2006, Michele Cunneen, Principal of The AWEN Group, will chair the Lab Animal Facilities Design Committee at the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). This new BSA committee, conceptualized by Ms. Cunneen, will bring together architects, planners, and construction trades involved in vivarium design planning and construction.

For further information, contact Ms. Cunneen at mcunneen@theawengroup.com.

AWEN Participates in International Discussion on the Human-Animal Relationship in a Laboratory Setting

A recent discussion of the Laboratory Animal Refinement and Enrichment Forum -- on "Human-Animal Relationship in the Research Lab" -- was published in Animal Technology and Welfare 5(2), 95-98 (August 2006). The discussion began with a question posed by the moderator, "Does the regular, affectionate interaction with adult animals help the subject overcome the fear of humans, and hence buffer the stress response to being handled during experimental procedures?"

Discussion participants included Dawn Abney, National Institutes of Heath, Poolesville, MD, USA; Michele Cunneen, The AWEN Group, Waltham, MA, USA; Natasha Down, York University, Toronto, Canada; Emily Patterson-Kane, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Evelyn Skoumbourdis, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; and Viktor Reinhardt (Moderator), Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC, USA.

The discussion has been made available online and can be viewed at http://www.awionline.org/Lab_animals/biblio/atw11.html.

AWEN's Michele Cunneen Participates in IACUC Succession Planning Workshop

On April 27, 2006, AWEN Principal Michele Cunneen was invited to present at a Massachusetts Society for Medical Research member workshop on succession planning for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Ms. Cunneen discussed "Term Limits... Why am I here? When do I get to go? How long do I have to commit?"

For further information, contact Ms. Cunneen at mcunneen@theawengroup.com.

AWEN Partners with SUBR to Advance Institutional Strategic Planning for Animal Rights Activism

On September 8-9, 2005, AWEN partnered with States United for Biomedical Research (SUBR) to present KEEPING THE WOLVES AT BAY: Strategic Planning for Research Institutions in an Era of Animal Activism in Chicago, Illinois. The conference brought to the life science research community a unique opportunity for strategic planning with a specific focus on animal activism in both academic and corporate environments through a hands-on, results-driven professional development experience. Participants drew on their collective professional backgrounds and experiences to develop workable strategic plans that streamline internal practices while laying the groundwork for broader public support of research.

For further information about AWEN strategic planning services for crisis management, contact Michele Cunneen at mcunneen@theawengroup.com.

 
 
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