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Chang Gung University passed the AAALAC International’s assessment and accreditation in recognition of the implementation of humane care for laboratory animals to improve research quality

Laboratory Animal Center

Chang Gung University is very well known for its medical school. Basic medical research has always been the strength of Chang Gung University, but its theoretical accuracy of laboratory research needs to be verified. Therefore, the demand for animal experiments is naturally self-evident. In addition, the rapid development of large volume of biomedical materials and biosensor technology in recent years has greatly increased the demand for animal experiments. Therefore, in order to provide researchers with a standardized animal experiment platform, Chang Gung University began to prepare for the assessment and accreditation of laboratory animal care by AAALAC International many years ago.

The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC International) is a private, non-profit international accreditation organization. It is committed to promoting humane treatment of laboratory animals in science. The AAALAC International designs a special application process to ensure ongoing self-examination of laboratory animal policies, veterinary care programs, animal welfare, and hardware facilities. It allows scientists, veterinarians, administrators, and experimenters to conduct independent and rigorous assessments of their institution's animal programs. The ultimate goal is to improve animal welfare while ensuring research progression and results. After obtaining the accreditation from the AAALAC International, Chang Gung University's humane care for laboratory animals has been in line with international standards.

The preparation for accreditation begins with the upgrade of hardware facilities. The Chang Gung University Laboratory Animal Center is rebuild in two stages into a laboratory animal breeding area that meet the standards, and the area is divided according to its functions. The SPF area (with no specific pathogen area) is mainly for the conservation and breeding of genetically modified animals, using a comprehensive computer to control temperature, humidity as well as air pressure. The general area is mainly for conducting animal experiments. The design of the large animal room combined with the front room allows the user to carry out most of the experiments in the Laboratory Animal Center. At the same time, the infectious animal room (ABSL2) and the multifunctional animal room are provided for the special needs of the experiment and available for different researchers.  During the preparation of the hardware facilities, we began to prepare application documents in writing. Throughout the process of writing the documents, we looked into the animal laboratory care committee policies, review mechanism, application tracking process, veterinary care programs and even animal experiment execution sites, animal welfare and employee safety planning and implementation measures. The university submitted the application on March 31, 2018. The AAALAC International inspection officer visited the site at Chang Gung University on June 21 and 22, 2018. The inspection included the animal laboratory care committee policy, all animal experiment review cases, the animal center site for experiment and surrounding animal experiment execution sites. During the visit, the president was personally present at the meeting, and all animal laboratory care committee members also fully assisted with the inspection. After the subsequent document revision and communication of policy implementation, the university is notified on November 8, 2018 by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International to officially receive the campus wide accreditation.

At present, more than 1,000 units in the world have obtained the AAALAC International certification. The certification represents the international recognition of laboratory animal management and care at Chang Gung University. The future animal research conducted by Chang Gung University will be treated as the same standard with international level in terms of environmental standardization, experimental reliability, animal welfare issues and other aspects. There are a total of 201 units recognized by the AAALAC International organization in the Pan Pacific region, of which 20 units in Taiwan have obtained the AAALAC International certification, including five universities: National Defense University (2007), National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (2014), the College of Medicine of National Taiwan University (2017), Chang Gung University (2018) and Kaohsiung Medical University (2018). Among these educational institutions, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Chang Gung University and Kaohsiung Medical University are certified with campus wide accreditation. Obtaining the certification is only the beginning for raising the bar of our research. Facing the ever-changing scientific research in the future, we hope to strengthen the quality of laboratory animal care and lay a cornerstone for many biomedical studies.