AAALAC International:

The Accreditors Viewpoint

Kathryn Bayne, M.S., Ph.D., D.V.M., DACLAM, DACAW, CAAB
Global Director
AAALACs Role
In the face of increasing connectivity of
animal-based research across institutions
and countries, harmonization of animal
care and use standards and practices
becomes essential.
Improved animal welfare
Refined animal model
More reliable data
The Challenge for All
Assurance that standards of animal care
and use are comparable
Dealing with potentially significant cultural,
communication, and philosophical
differences
Potential impact on care of animals, numbers of
animals used, research methodologies, etc.
Science as the Common Language
If the standards proposed for laboratory
animal care in one country or group of
countries are not scientifically based, their
global acceptance will be more limited.
Science is objective, verifiable, based on
facts
AAALAC Mission
AAALAC International is a voluntary accrediting
organization that enhances the quality of
research, teaching, and testing by promoting
humane, responsible animal care and use. It
provides advice and independent assessments to
participating institutions and accredits those that
meet or exceed applicable standards.
Founding Member Organizations
American Association of Dental Schools
American College of Physicians
American College of Surgeons
American Dental Association
American Heart Association
American Medical Association
American Veterinary Medical
Association
Association of American Medical
Colleges
Association of American Veterinary
Medical Colleges
Federation of American Societies for
Experimental Biology
National Association of State
Universities and Land Grant Colleges
National Society for Medical Research
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Association
AAALAC Founders
Recognized that consistent, high level of
research animal care would benefit science
Recognized as well that input from
scientists was needed
Animal Care Panel 1964 Report
As part of the scientific community, the Animal
Care Panel has been working to define the
conditions of animal care which promote sound and
proper animal experimentation. The Animal
Care Panel cannot and will not proceed with this
program [accreditation] without the consent and
support of the scientific community.
ILAR Newsletter October 1965
The AAALAC has been organized to
promote a program for the accreditation of
laboratory animal care facilities which will
encourage, promote and facilitate scientific
research which includes the use of
experimental animals.
AAALAC: Founded in Science,
Guided by Science
Board of Trustees Member Organizations
More than half represent scientific organizations
Toxicology, agriculture, neuroscience, transgenic
technology, etc.
Others represent veterinary medical, patient advocacy,
science advocacy and industry/academic interest
groups
Approximately one-third of the Council on
Accreditation hold a Ph.D.
Who Are the AAALAC BOT Members?
69 Organizations
Approximately 40 represent research disciplines
17 Represent veterinary or animal sciences specialty
groups
Patient advocacy, science advocacy and
industry/academic interest groups comprise the
balance
Many international organizations (e.g., AFLAS,
FELASA, KCLAM, ICLAS, ANZCCART)
AAALAC International Member
Organizations
Academy of Surgical Research
American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
American Association for the Advancement of
Science
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Corporate and Public
Practice
American Association of Immunologists
American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology,
Inc.
American College of Surgeons
American College of Toxicology
American College of Veterinary Pathologists
American Dairy Science Association
American Dental Education Association
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
American Hospital Association
American Physiological Society
American Psychological Association
American Society for Nutrition
American Society for Pharmacology and
Experimental
American Society of Animal Science
American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners
American Society of Mammalogists
American Society of Primatologists
American Veterinary Medical Association
Americans for Medical Progress
Asian Federation of Laboratory Animal Science
Association for Behavior Analysis International
Association for Gnotobiotics
Association for Psychological Science
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Veterinary Medical
Colleges
Association of Independent Research Institutes
Association of Minority Health Professions Schools,
Inc.
AAALAC International Member
Organizations
Association of Primate Veterinarians
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of
Animals in Research and Teaching - New Zealand
College on Problems of Drug Dependence, Inc.
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries
and Associations
European Society of Laboratory Animal
Veterinarians
Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology
Federation of Animal Science Societies
Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science
Associations
Institute of Animal Technology
International Association for Gnotobiology
International Behavioral Neuroscience Society
International Council for Laboratory Animal Science
International Society for Applied Ethology
International Society for Developmental
Psychobiology
International Society for Transgenic Technologies
Interpharma
Korean College of Laboratory Animal Medicine
Laboratory Animal Management Association
National Association for Biomedical Research
Neurobehavioral Teratology Society
Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research
Poultry Science Association
Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research
Safety Pharmacology Society
Scientists Center for Animal Welfare
Shock Society
Sleep Research Society
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Pediatric Research
Society of Toxicology
Teratology Society
The Association for Research in Vision and
The Ornithological Council
Core Values
Animal
Welfare
Voluntary
Science
Accuracy
Confidential
Collegial
High
Quality
Programs
Peer
Review
Evaluation or Inspection?
the accreditation process is a
communication-intensive program of
evaluation and support, stressing application
of performance standards and professional
judgment rather than inspection and
enforcement of engineering standards.
The Assessment Process
The four major components of the
animal care and use program assessed
by AAALAC International:
institutional policies and responsibilities
animal environment, housing
and management
veterinary medical care
and physical plant
Lack of Reproducibility in
Preclinical Research
Many of these failures [in reproducibility]
have simple and practical explanations:
different animal strains, different lab
environments or subtle changes in
protocol.
FrancisS.Collins,Director,NIHandLawrenceA.Tabak,Principal
DeputyDirector,NIH
Nature,Vol 505,January2014
Harmonization of animal care
and use standards and
expectations
Efforts of:
ICLAS
IACLAM
AAALAC International
OIE (World Organisation for Animal
Health)
CIOMS
Proper care and use of laboratory animals
(from breeding to end of experiments)
Better quality of science
No repetition of
experiments
Reduction n animals
Internatl. recognition
Papers, funding
Efficiency
Reduced research costs,
Faster development
Benefits of Accreditation
Concentrates on promoting continuous improvement
to a global benchmark
Performancebased (focuses on outcome measures
to determine performance)
Represents a level of quality consistent with global
standards
Recognized by funding sources and research
partners
AAALAC is the ONLY animal care and use accrediting
body that is worldwide
Benefits of Accreditation
Promotes scientific validity for publication in
international high-impact journals
Minimizes experimental variability
Promotes reproducible quality data
Fosters inter-instutional collaboration
Keeps institutions knowledgeable and in step with
global best practices
Promotes high standards and helps to raise the
global benchmark for animal well-being in science
Provides the public and other stakeholders with a
positive image
Incidence of Immediate Success in Accreditation
(No Mandatory Findings)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
P
E
R
C
E
N
T
A
G
E
1986 2013
What are outcomes of accreditation?
Global nature of science
International collaboration or outsourcing
International meetings
Peer-reviewed journals
Scientific imperative for:
Reproducibility of results
Transferability of results
Statistical validity of data
Animal care = scientific variable
Demonstrates highest tier institution
QUESTIONS?