Duke University
Durham, North Carolina 27705
Office of Animal Welfare Assurance Voice: 919.668.6720
Campus Mail: Hock Plaza Box 2724 Fax: 919.668.6725
US Mail: 2424 Erwin Road; Suite 606; Durham, NC 27705 http://vetmed.duhs.duke.edu
The Duke University Animal Care & Use Program is committed to advancing healthcare for humans and animals
through compassionate care and progressive animal use.
RESEARCH ANIMAL COORDINATOR CERTIFICATION
Program Overview
The Duke Animal Care and Use Program offers a training and certification program for individuals
wishing to serve as their laboratory ‘go-to’ person for animal care and use activities. Referred to as the
Research Animal Coordinator Certification (RACC) Program, individuals who participate in this program
will receive specific and detailed information concerning animal care and use at Duke. Those who
achieve certification may be designated by the Principal Investigator to serve as the laboratory
coordinator for all animal activities and provide in-lab guidance regarding animal care and use at Duke.
In addition to assisting with protocol development and processing, the RACC will be trained to provide
internal compliance assistance and hands-on procedure skills to laboratory members. The Duke Animal
Program views the RACC as the laboratory ‘subject matter expert,’ who will facilitate successful use of
animals in research activities while also knowing how to accomplish the variety of regulatory tasks at
Duke. This program provides direct applicability to the researcher (smoother research application
approval, accelerated approval, decreased risk of non-compliance issues) while also benefiting the RACC
candidate (enhancing the value to the research team, improving research skills, providing an improved
knowledge of how to ‘get things done’ for animal care or use issues). RACC training is consistent with
required training for certification with AALAS (American Association for Laboratory Animal Science), and
if desired by the candidate may be used as training leading to formal certification with AALAS as an ALAT
(Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician), LAT (Laboratory Animal Technician), or LATG (Laboratory
Animal Technologist).
The RACC program is voluntary, and offered at no-cost by the Duke Animal Care and Use Program.
Managed by the Office of Animal Welfare Assurance (OAWA) with significant contributions from the
Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
(IACUC), the RACC program uses a multi-modal educational approach (e.g., lectures, web-modules,
meetings, one-on-one discussion, and hands-on learning). The Research Animal Coordinator will
develop new knowledge and research skills in all aspects of animal program oversight and management
to include protocol development, compliance oversight, common animal procedures involving
anesthesia and analgesia, aseptic surgical technique, DLAR husbandry procedures, facility security,
literature searches for alternatives to painful or distressful procedures, and much more. The RACC
candidate will be evaluated throughout the RACC program and those meeting or exceeding the
minimum knowledge and skill requirements will be certified as a Duke Animal Care and Use Program
RACC. As a certified RACC, individuals shall have a greater overall knowledge of animal research, and a
clear understanding of how to efficiently conduct fully compliant research at Duke. The RACC program
will include:
• SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR PROTOCOL APPLICATIONS AND AMENDMENTS: The RACC will
receive tips and suggestions for writing an animal use application which is complete and will
pass muster of IACUC review. An application which meets the regulatory requirements is
generally approved more rapidly than an application with significant issues requiring
attention.