Meeting Agenda:   The meeting is for the attendees and the agenda will be developed based on input from program participants.  Those who register for the BP meeting will be asked to suggest ideas for agenda items on their registration forms.  The final agenda will be developed based on attendee suggestions and be available the week of October 17, 2016.

What is the Best Practice Meeting format?

The meetings are facilitated by co-moderators with colleagues from OLAW, the USDA and AAALAC International present to participate in open discussions.  Attendance is limited to approximately 50 individuals with roundtable seating arrangements.  This structure has been proven over the years to facilitate attendee conversation and participation.   

The meeting is typically held over a two day period with each discussion session being approximately an hour.  Networking luncheons are held on both days.  The information sessions are initiated by an attendee’s 10 minute presentation.  Immediately following the presentation, attendees, regulators, and AAALAC representatives engage in open discussions. 

Co-Facilities:

Ron E. Banks, DVM:  Receiving his veterinary degree from Auburn University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Banks retired a Colonel from the United States Army Veterinary Corps.  After postings as the Director, Center for Comparative Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado; and Director, Office of Animal Welfare Assurance at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; he currently serves as the Director, Division of Comparative Medicine, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Along his professional journey he has contributed as Council Member on AAALAC’s Council on Accreditation; Chairman of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee; Board Member for the IACUC Administrator’s Association; and Fellow of the National Academies of Practice.  Dr. Banks is board certified with the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine; the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine; and he is a Charter Diplomate of the American College of Animal Welfare.

Bill Greer:  received his Bachelor’s in Microbiology from Penn State University in 1985.  He currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan.  His previous roles included Associate Director for Research Compliance at the Pennsylvania State University, and research technician, production manager and Safety Officer at Intervet, State College, PA (Formally Tri Bio Laboratories).  In 2005, he organized and held the first IACUC Administrators’ Best Practices Meeting, which establish a venue for administrators to informally meet to discuss programmatic concerns.  He continues to facilitate at least three annual Best Practice meetings.  In 2007, he initiated the process of establishing the IACUC Administrators Association (IAA); a professional organization of IACUC Administrators.  In 2010, he chaired the founding committee for the non-profit education based IAA organization.  He now serves as the president and chairman of the IAA board of directors.  Since 2007, Bill has served as ad hoc consultant to AAALAC Council where he performs institutional program reviews, assessments, and status determinations.  He served as a member of the Council of Certified Professional IACUC Administrators (CCPIA).  He continues to serve as an educator for the IACUC Administrative community and has lectured at multiple venues including PRIM&R, AALAS, CIC, C3, and Administrators Best Practice Meetings.

Guest Facilitators:

John Bradfield, DVM, Ph.D. is Senior Director, Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC International).  He has served as Director of the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine and Attending Veterinarian at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and as the Chair of the Department of Comparative Medicine, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University. Prior to graduate studies in laboratory animal medicine, he was a large animal practitioner. He has had many years of experience directing animal programs and as an animal care and use committee member. Dr. Bradfield has scholarly publications in various areas of laboratory animal medicine, wound healing, vascular biology and platelet biology. He has given national and international presentations on topics in laboratory animal medicine and platelet function. He is a member of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science is a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and has Ph.D. in experimental pathology. Dr. Bradfield has 10 years of service as Council member of AAALAC International and as Council President.

Ms. Susan Silk, M.S. is the Director of the Division of Policy and Education in the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) where she oversees the development and interpretation of policy regarding the use of laboratory animals in research, testing and training at PHS-Assured institutions and oversees educational programs tailored for animal care & use programs. Ms. Silk previously worked at the National Cancer Institute Office of the Director in many roles, including Educational Program Developer, Special Communication Project Developer, Senior Scientific Writer, and Speechwriter. Prior to joining the NCI OD, she served the NCI Intramural Program as the Senior Animal Policy Advisor and Director of the Office of Mice Advice. Susan directed transgenic mouse core laboratories at both NIH and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She has an M.S. degree in Genetics from the University of Maryland, a B.S. degree in Biomedical Illustration from the University of Maryland, and a B.F.A. in Design and Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Susan brings 29 years of experience in biomedical research and scientific communication to OLAW.

Dr. David Oelberg, DVM is a regional Veterinary Medical Officer (VMO) with the USDA, APHIS.  He graduated from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and has worked for the USDA, APHIS for the last ten years.  Dr. Oelberg, also, worked fourteen years in the Army Veterinary Corps, and continues to serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve.

State College, PA Meeting Logistics:

The 2016 IACUC Administrators Best Practice Meeting, State College, PA

            When:                         November 15 – 16, 2016

            Where:                        The Atherton Hotel, State College, PA

            Meeting Support:       The IACUC Administrators’ Association,  and OLAW           

Lodging:

            The Atherton Hotel

            125 South Atherton Street

            State College, PA 16801

           Phone: 800-832-0132 or (814) 231-2100

           Fax: (814) 237-1130

A limited number of rooms at a conference rate of $95 per night have been reserved for you at the Atherton Hotel.  Reservations can be made by directly contacting the Atherton Hotel at 1-800-832-0132.  Please use IACUC Conference as the online reservation code to receive the conference rate.  Garage self-parking is available for $10 per day.

Please Note:

• You must make your hotel reservation or contact me by October 14, 2014 to secure the conference rate and your spot at the Best Practice Meeting!
• The $95 rate is based on single occupancy.  There is a fee of $10.00 for each additional person occupying the room, and if a rollaway bed is required an additional $25 fee will apply.

The occupancy tax for State College is currently 8.5%.  Only Federal Government travelers are exempt with occupancy tax exemption form, provided the Federal Government is rendering the payment

Attendance Fees:

• IACUC Administrators Association (IAA) members:  $60.
• Non-members:  $175

*Save on registration fees by securing a membership in the IAA (http://iacucaa.org/)!

* $100 is the membership fee for the IAA; we encourage you to complete the membership application and sign-up to attend our meeting as an IAA Associate Member.

Comments:

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to participate in the program and related activities. If you anticipate needing special accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Bill Greer at 734-763-3571 at least two weeks prior to the conference.

The meeting facilitator reserves the right to cancel all programs. The IAA will not be responsible for any losses incurred by registrants including, but not limited to, airline cancellation charges or hotel deposits. The program agenda is subject to change without notice.

Participation of women, racial/ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities, and other individuals, who have been traditionally underrepresented in science, is encouraged.

For questions related to program content/logistics:

Please email: Bill Greer at The University of Michigan, (wggreer@umich.edu)