What's New

November 2, 2009 - TOPAZ Enterprise Training Sessions:

There will be five training sessions for the TOPAZ Enterprise on-line protocol system beginning Friday, November 6, 2009.  Three sessions are also planned for December, 2010.  Registration is not required.  You must sign an attendance sheet.)

November 6, 2009             1:00 PM         K-307, 3-6408

November 13, 2009            1:00 PM         K-307, 3-6408

November 20, 2009            1:00 PM         K-307, 3-6408

November 23, 2009            9:00 AM         Louise Slaughter C1-9555

November 30, 2009            9:00 AM         Louise Slaughter C1-9555

December 9, 2009               10:00 AM       Natapow Room C 1-9545

December 10, 2009             9:30 AM        Natapow Room C1-9545

December 15, 2009             1:30 PM         K-307, 3-6408

October 6, 2009 - WEB-Based Submission of Animal Protocols - Animal Use Protocols must be submitted on-line using Topaz Enterprise--beginning January 1, 2010, all new submissions of animal protocols and all 36-month reviews, must be submitted in this format.  UCAR has been accepting submissions on this system for about six months.  The Topaz System can be accessed by web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) from either a Mac or PC.    

 TOPAZ training is mandatory--all faculty and staff must attend a TOPAZ training session and obtain an account.  New faculty members who are transferring to the University must also submit protocols on-line (individual training can be arranged via telephone if necessary).  If a PI wishes to have a lab manager or administrative staff member given privileges to create and edit, or modify an on-line protocol they must also attend a training session.  Accounts are set up in conjunction with training sessions. 

If you have any questions about this or want to schedule TOPAZ training, contact Jean Defendorf in the UCAR office (5-1693).

April 28, 2009 - On-line Protocol submission (rats and mice) - NEW animal care and use forms and 36-month reviews can now be submitted on-line, for mice and rats only.   You must attend a training session before you can submit an on-line protocol.   Please contact Jean Defendorf in the UCAR Office X5-1693.

March 16, 2009 - Modification to Add a New Grant to an Approved Protocol - It is now acceptable to add a new grant to your protocol rather than submit an entirely new protocol for the grant, as long as the animal work in the new grant is reasonably similar to that in the protocol.

Click here for complete instructions

February 4, 2009 - The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, also known as "The Guide", is not only the basis for AAALAC International accreditation, but is also central to the Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Us of Laboratory Animals. The Guide's recommendations carry the force of law based on the Health Research Extension Act passed by Congress in 1985.

Written in general terms, the Guide emphasizes performance goals - not engineering approaches.

The Guide is recognized worldwide as a resource for laboratory animal research facilities. Currently, the Guide can be read and ordered online in Chinese, English, French , Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Taiwanese translations.

How to order your copy of "The Guide".

March 6, 2008 - Procedures for modifying Animal Use Protocols - Beginning March 10, 2008 modifications to protocols (other than adding staff) will be done differently.  Rather than describing the modification on the modification form, you will be required to modify the most recent version of the protocol and submit the entire protocol for review of the changes.  The procedure will be as follows:

1. Modify the protocol to include all changes you wish to make.  Make sure those changes (and only those changes) are in RED type.  Make sure all the relevant sections are addressed (see guidelines below).
2. Send an email to UCAR@urmc.rochester.edu with a brief description of the modification and the reason(s) for it.  Attach the modified protocol as a MS Word file.
3. The actual review process will be similar to what it is now, and should not take any longer.  Furthermore, if there are no questions, the protocol, as submitted, will be approved, and you will not have to submit any additional documents.
4. If there are questions or changes are requested, you will be asked to incorporate them into the protocol (in RED) and email the updated protocol to UCAR.

Click here to review the new instructions