Driving onto the campus where I serve as an unaffiliated 'community' member of the IACUC, I never fail to get excited. I spent my career in academia and love the classroom in all its forms. The campus where I volunteer offers a beautiful setting with a strong legacy in teaching and innovation.

My IACUC training really began with my early experiences in academia. I have always greatly valued research—whether in the laboratory, the field or the clinic. I worked in field research as an undergraduate, started my career doing laboratory research and then taught university-level biology. I spent the last decade of my career in university compliance, managing Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) that reviewed both medical and socio-behavioral studies. There, I was privileged to work with world-class researchers and reveled in supporting a large section of the university research portfolio. After observing the regulatory shutdown of a sister campus, I came to truly believe that the role of compliance is to protect not only the research subjects but also the institutional research mission by ensuring that research is done legally and ethically. This outcome can only be assured through the education of researchers and board members alike.

I realized, however, that many researchers, though fundamentally ethical, are either not aware of or not focused on the rules, despite the formal education required of or offered to them (e.g., Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Learning Library and local presentations). I found that direct engagement with less formal educational efforts (face-to-face consults, written feedback on submissions and e-mail exchanges) is key to building a sustainable culture of compliance. As a research compliance officer, by sustaining productive and respectful dialogue with researchers, I was able to improve compliance while assisting them with protocol submissions. I also learned about their work and the myriad ways that ethical studies can be designed and carried out. The education was mutual. Researchers told me that their studies improved substantially as a result of thinking about ethics (and, yes, rules) up front. Many initiated discussions with my office before writing grants. Their research submissions became easier to review, and they shared what they learned with their students. I found that this approach to education was essential for bringing noncompliant researchers into compliance, gaining their advocacy and improving system efficiency.

In managing IRBs I also learned the unique value of my board community members, who ranged from grade-school teachers to pediatricians, and I witnessed the transformation of many other board members who interacted with them. I found community members to be some of the most reliably insightful and broad-minded reviewers, and I regularly assigned reviews to them and encouraged them to speak their minds. Though initially shy, they soon learned that this was, in fact, the reason they were at the table. I saw faculty grow in their regard for these members, openly acknowledging the value of their questions and concerns and, in responding to their questions, explaining the research in ways that enlightened everyone present. We all benefited from those discussions, and I've learned that dialogue 'at the table,' as well as in other forums, is a key part of any regulatory board member's education.

It therefore made sense to me that volunteering for the local university IACUC could be both a fulfilling experience and a service to the campus that I am just getting to know after moving to a nearby community two years ago. As I learn, through reading and reviewing protocols, attending meetings and, especially, taking part in inspections where I meet researchers in person, my understanding of this research community and how it should be regulated is growing. With incredible support from the campus IACUC administrator, my confidence in asking questions or voicing concerns is increasing. I've also been asked to help summarize new regulatory guidance, such as the American Veterinary Medical Association's updated guidelines on euthanasia. I've participated in other formal training, including a six-week online course for new IACUC members, which included conferencing with board members and administrators from around the country. These experiences have spurred me to dig into the rules more deeply and have provided invaluable lessons in the history and rationale for regulating this research.

As I used to say when I was in the administrator role, we have a shared responsibility with a common goal. Though we may approach our objective from wildly different perspectives, we find common ground through the formal education on regulations we must all know and apply; through guided discussions at board meetings, special assignments and tailored courses; and through less formal interactions, which are often the most enjoyable and fulfilling.