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Do. Or Do Not. There is No Suspension

Lab Animal volume 52, page 4 (2023)Cite this article

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To address the elephant, or the rabbit, in the room, removing someone’s access to a Great Eastern University (GEU) animal facility, even if that person is the only individual trained to perform animal-related duties, is not equivalent to a suspension. Even if Li Wang could not access their animals, there were other research-related activities that Li may participate in that would continue to benefit the grant, e.g., writing, maintaining animal use protocols, managing substances, managing project data, and coordinating research subjects1. The lack of access to animals does not mean that Dr. Guaio’s research enterprise stops or even be interrupted; thus, in and of itself, removing access is not equivalent to a suspension of their research activity.

Suspension of an activity is clearly defined in both the Animal Welfare Act and Regulations (AWAR)2 and Public Health Service (PHS) Policy3. Only the IACUC, by a majority of a quorum at a convened meeting, has the authority to suspend an activity2,3; the attending veterinarian (AV), IACUC chair, or IACUC office director do not. The decision to remove Li’s access by one or even the group of program leaders was not a suspension, nor should it be considered as such.

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References

  1. NIH Grants Policy Statement (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 2021). 7.9 Allowability of Costs/Activities.

  2. Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C. 2019). Section 2.31(d)(6).

  3. Public Health Service. PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 2015). Sections IV.C.1.a-g.

  4. Thurston, S., Burlingame, L., Lester, P. A. & Lofgren, J. J. Vis. Exp. 133, 57267 (2018).

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  5. Thurston, S. & Ottesen, J. L. eds. Animal-Centric Care and Management: Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research. 1st edn (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Animal Research Support, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Shrilatha Balakrishna & Troy Hallman

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  1. Shrilatha Balakrishna
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  2. Troy Hallman
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Correspondence to Shrilatha Balakrishna or Troy Hallman.

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Balakrishna, S., Hallman, T. Do. Or Do Not. There is No Suspension. Lab Anim 52, 4 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-022-01094-w

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