Resources

• DLAR Access Instructions (PDF, 1pg)
• Research Personnel Request for Access to DLAR Facilities (PDF, 1pg)
• DLAR Staff-PPD-Security-Vendor Request for Access to DLAR Facilities (PDF. 1pg) 

• Principal Investigator Cayuse AO Account Request
• Non-PI Cayuse AO Account Request

• DLAR Services Request Form (PDF, 1pg)
• DLAR Do Not Feed Form (PDF, 1pg)
• DLAR Treatment Request Form (PDF, 1pg)
• DLAR Record of Daily Care (PDF, 1pg) Previously Named "DLAR Feed and Water Schedule"
• DLAR Hazardous Agent Use Request (PDF, 1pg) 
• DLAR Research Supply Acquisition Form (PDF, 1pg)
• Pathology/Necropsy Request Form (PDF, 1pg)
•  DLAR Cryopreservation Services Request Form (PDF, 2pgs)

• Occupational Health and Safety Form for Visitors (PDF, 3pgs) Please download and print the Occupational Health and Safety form, sign it, and then either fax it to the DLAR main office at 859-323-6002, or bring it with you at the time of your visit. 
• Guidelines and Policies for Accessing DLAR Facilities (PDF, 2pgs)

• Instructions for Importing Rodent Colonies to DLAR
• Request to Import Animals from Other Institutions (PDF)
• Request to Export Animals to Other Institutions (PDF)
• Quarantine Information (coming soon)

• For Rodents and Rabbits (PDF, 2pgs)
• For Other Species (PDF, 1pgs)

Contact the DLAR Training Group for further information and reservations for the Mouse Breeding Colony Management Seminar.  Breeding Colony Management training slides (PDF, 77 pgs).

DLAR Investigator Orientation provides the investigator and their research staff with valuable information for navigating DLAR facilities easily and successfully. 

Topics include:

About the Division of Laboratory Animal Resources at the University of Kentucky, Federal Regulations, IACUC & Protocol Considerations, Working with Animals in DLAR Facilities, Safety, Facility Access and Security, Animal Housing Systems, Humane Euthanasia, and DLAR Contacts.

The presentation last about 90 minutes, we recommend scheduling two hours in the event there are questions. 

To Schedule:

1.  Select your preferred date

2. Send the resulting auto-populated email 

November and December, we will only offer once due to the Holidays

If the posted dates do not work with your lab schedule, please reach out to the DLAR Training Group to inquire about setting up a Personal/Lab session.

Click here for PDF version of the schedule.

DLAR Designation-Flag Cards "What They Mean" (PDF 31pgs)

DLAR  Pink Surgery Cards (PDF, 10pgs)

PPE: What Is It and Why Do I Have to Wear It? (PDF, 33pgs)

Working in a Rodent Barrier Room (PDF, 32pgs)

Micro-Isolator Technique (PDF, 27pgs)

Using Rodent Anesthesia Machines (PDF, 19pgs)

Principles of Aseptic Surgery Techniques (PDF, 24pgs)

Injection Techniques for Mice and Rats (PDF, 23pgs)

Mouse Breeding Colony Management (PDF, 77pgs)

Post-Surgical Monitoring (PDF, 33pgs)

Rodent Euthanasia Guidelines and Recommendations 2020 (PDF, 29pgs)

Our instructor for this workshop will be Dr. Cheryl Haughton, Senior Clinical Veterinarian.

Research staff will need to complete prerequisite training prior to enrollment in this rodent surgical workshop. Prerequisite training will include: Mouse and Rat Handling; Mouse and Rat Injection Techniques; Use of Rodent Anesthesia Machine; Principles of Aseptic Rodent Surgery; Suturing Basics for Rodents; and Post Surgical Monitoring. Forms of this training include the AALAS learning library, DLAR online or workshop presentations, demonstrated experience, and work with inanimate models.  

Please contact Dr. Haughton to discuss prerequisites. 

To schedule for this Workshop please contact the DLAR Training Group

Contact the DLAR Training Group for further information and reservations for the Humane Techniques for Rodent Euthanasia Using Carbon Dioxide Seminar. Rodent Euthanasia Guidelines and Recommendations (PDF 29 pgs).  Guide for Carbon Dioxide Euthanasia Steps (PDF 8 pgs)

This workshop will demonstrate the appropriate way to prep your surgical area and patient in an aseptic manner. Handouts will be offered for future reference as well. Please contact the DLAR Training Group for further Information and reservations for Principles of Aseptic Surgery Techniques Workshop.  Aseptic Surgery Techniques presentation (pdf, 23 pgs).

Contact the DLAR Training Group for further information and reservations for the Post Surgical Monitoring Seminar.  Post-Surgical Monitoring and Records presentation (PDF, 34pgs).

Please contact DLAR Training Group for further information and reservations for the Hands On Rodent Procedure Training Workshop.

This workshop covers various techniques of physical and chemical restraint and injection techniques for mice and rats. Contact the DLAR Training Group for further information or Reservations for Basic Handling of Mice and Rats and Injection techniques. Please view the information for the Handling of Mice and Rats (password: handlemice1) and the Injection Techniques for Mice and Rats presentation (PDF, 23pgs).

Contact DLAR Training Group for further information and reservations for Suturing Basics for Rodent Workshop.  Suturing Basics Handout (PDF, 24 pgs)

Contact Glenn Florence and Kristin Fox DLAR Research Analyst for further information and reservations for Use of Rodent Anesthesia Machines Workshop.  Using Rodent Anesthesia Machines presentation (PDF, 19 pgs). Waste Anesthesia Gas handout

When you have received IACUC approval for animal use, contact Cheryl Carmichael, to establish your departmental start-up and/or grant account number(s) in the Cayuse Animal Oversight database. After the account setup process has been completed, you will then be able to submit an online animal order in Cayuse Animal Oversight.

In the table of contents section, click on Animal Orders then select Create New Animal Order. This link will take you through the animal ordering process that includes selecting your approved protocol number, if you have several to choose from, your order source (type), specifications i.e. strain, age/weight, sex and species (mouse, rat, etc.).

Select the account number to which the animal purchase will be charged and any other specifications you wish to include. Please follow the on-screen instructions.

For any questions or problems, contact Cheryl Carmichael 859-323-6006

Ordering deadline for Jackson, Envigo, Charles River, and Taconic is Wednesday at 3:00 pm the week before the animals arrive. The deadline for NIA orders is Tuesday at 11:00 am the week before the animals arrive. 

Jackson and Envigo shipments come in on Mondays. Charles River, Taconic, and NIA shipments come in on Tuesdays.

For larger animals contact Cheryl Carmichael 859-323-6006 for ordering deadline and arrival dates and times. 

The Principal Investigator is contacted via confirmation e-mail when the animals have been received in Cayuse Animal Oversight or look it up under Order Search.

If a designated date of arrival was requested when placing an animal order, the above still applies but, also check with the supervisor of the facility where your animals are being housed or contact the DLAR Main office at 859-323-5885.

Our approved vendors deliver Days for Mice and Rats      
Monday deliveries: Envigo and The Jackson Laboratory

Tuesday deliveries: Charles River, Taconic and NIH
Other species:  Contact the DLAR business office at 859-323-5885 for information regarding delivery.

Animals that are expected from other sources such as collaborating intuitions are coordinated through our Import/Export coordinator and can sometimes be delayed due to health status reports. Please be aware that they may have to go through our quarantine protocols before they are allowed into our regular housing facilities.

Quarantine is a minimum of 45 days for rodents.  Rodent breeding stock and animals from non-standard vendors, and animals from outside the U.S. may require an extended quarantine.

Please refer to the text provided below for an explanation of the OLAW and USDA guidelines for the use of non-pharmaceutical grade chemicals or compounds

1. May investigators use non-pharmaceutical-grade compounds in animals?
   OLAW and USDA agree that pharmaceutical-grade¹ chemicals and other substances, when available, must be used to avoid toxicity or side effects that may threaten the health and welfare of vertebrate animals and / or interfere with the interpretation of research results. However, it is frequently necessary to use investigational compounds, veterinarian- or pharmacy-compounded² drugs, and / or Schedule I³ controlled substances to meet scientific and research goals.

The IACUC is responsible for evaluating the potential adverse consequences of such agents when used for research. In making its evaluation, the IACUC may consider factors including, for example:

• grade
• purity
• sterility
• acid-base balance
• pyrogenicity
• osmolality
• stability
• site and route of administration
• compatibility of components
• side effects and adverse reactions
• storage, and
• pharmacokinetics.

The IACUC may use a variety of administrative methods to review and approve the use of such non-pharmaceutical-grade agents. For example, the IACUC may establish acceptable scientific criteria for use of these agents within the institution, rather than on a case-by-case basis. Investigators and IACUCs should consider relevant animal welfare and scientific issues including safety, efficacy, availability of pharmaceutical-grade compounds, and the inadvertent introduction of new variables. Cost savings alone are not an adequate justification for the use of non-pharmaceutical-grade or compounded drugs in animals.

Although the potential animal welfare consequences of complications are less evident in non-survival studies, the scientific issues remain the same. The principles and need for professional judgment outlined above apply to non-survival studies.

Procedures that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to animals must be relieved by sedation, analgesia, or anesthesia using veterinary or human pharmaceutical-grade compounds, unless the use of an investigational chemical or formulation is scientifically necessary, appropriately justified, and approved by the IACUC. The use of a non-pharmaceutical-grade euthanasia agent must meet the same criteria.

¹ A pharmaceutical grade compound is a drug, biologic, or reagent that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or for which a chemical purity standard has been established by the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary (USP-NF), or British Pharmacopeia (BP).

² Veterinary compounding is the customized manipulation of an approved drug by a veterinarian, or by a pharmacist upon the prescription of a veterinarian, to meet the needs of a research study. IACUCs considering the use of veterinary compounding for research purposes are advised to consult the AVMA Vet Compounding Brochure for more information about federal regulations.

³ United States Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Agency controlled substances Schedule I and II-IV drugs may be used in biomedical research according to the standards of the Code of Federal Regulations 1301.13.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/faqs.htm#useandmgmt_4   . 

This information is also contained in the document entitled IACUC 119 Non-Pharmaceutical Grade Chemicals (pdf, 5pgs).

All visitors, vendors, contractors and equipment repair personnel must first go through a DLAR Orientation and receive our Occupational Health and Safety Information PRIOR to their entry into the animal facility.

If the repair personnel have visited before without receiving the information, you will need to make arrangements for them to meet with the DLAR Training coordinator, the assistant training coordinator, or you may contact the supervisor of the facility you need access to in order to arrange for this to occur. This can be easily accomplished by letting us know when you plan to have them come in. We can schedule the orientation as a group or on an individual basis either in our training room H41A on the ground floor of the Medical Center. The room can accommodate up to four people. If there is a larger group, a meeting room can be arranged.

In addition, ALL personnel, without exception, entering the animal facilities MUST have either a valid UK Security issued ID badge with a RED DLAR sticker attached or a temporary UK DLAR Visitors badge/sticker. These temporary DLAR stickers/badges are valid only for the date they are issued. They must also have received a copy of the Visitor/Vendor Occupational Health and Safety Information (pdf, 3 pgs).  It will not be necessary for them to sign a Visitor/Vendor form on subsequent visits unless it has been more than one year since their last visit. Forms and temporary stickers/badges can be obtained from our main office in the Health Science Research Building (HSRB) in Room 204 or from H41A on the ground floor of the Medical Center.