Education & Training

All Principal investigators and personnel using animals on ACC protocols and/or funded grants supporting animal research are required to complete the ACC training module entitled “Animals and Research at UIC”. All investigators and personnel using mice and/or rats are also required to complete the ACC training module entitled “Working with Mice and Rats at UIC”. The training completion date for both modules must be within the last three years for both a new protocol submission and a triennial protocol submission.

A facility orientation is required in order for staff to obtain access to an animal facility.  A facility orientation can be scheduled with the veterinarian responsible for the animal facility and/or animal species that will be used to support the respective research project. Orientation sessions for research staff are required every five years to maintain facility access.

There are three courses offered to graduate students that are taught by the veterinary staff.

GC 470 (Essentials for Animal Research) is a seminar course that is required for students using animals in their thesis or dissertation research.  The course is designed to acquaint students with the regulations, sources of information, humane principles, and ethical considerations involving the appropriate use of animals for research and teaching.  The course is offered in the fall semester.

GC 471 (Experimental Animal Techniques) is an elective laboratory that is designed to acquaint students with the biology, physiology, and behavior of commonly used laboratory animals.  Students learn common restraint and biologic sample collection techniques, anesthetic methods and monitoring, postoperative management, aseptic technique, and basic surgical techniques.  The course is offered in the spring semester every other year in odd years.

GC 473 (Seminar in Comparative Medicine) is a seminar series designed to provide the didactic component of UIC’s ACLAM-recognized postdoctoral training program in laboratory animal medicine.  The course is offered every spring and fall semester.

• The UIC postdoctoral training program in laboratory animal medicine has been recognized by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine since 1994.  The veterinary staff has 70 years combined experience in training veterinarians to effectively support biomedical research.  The objective of the program is to provide an exceptional level of training so graduates are well-prepared to function as laboratory animal veterinarians, having gained experience with a variety of animal species, clinical and surgical techniques, and experimental models.  The training program is funded through a partnership with a local pharmaceutical company, and accepts one veterinarian per year with a total of three fellows in the program at any given time.
• The veterinary student externship program has introduced veterinary students to the practice of laboratory animal medicine through elective clinical rotations for 15 years.  Veterinary students participate in veterinary, technical, and research activities in three service areas: small animal colony, large animal colony/experimental surgery, and the nonhuman primate colony.  Students work closely with the veterinary and husbandry staff to learn laboratory animal medicine and management.  During the externship, hands-on activities may include performing medical treatments, sample collection, physical examination, interpretation of diagnostic tests, management of clinical cases, anesthesia and surgical training, dental procedures, environmental enrichment strategies, operant training methods, and mouse breeding colony management.  There are positions for up to four externs each during the fall and spring semesters.  Externs are not accepted for the summer months.
• The ASLAP veterinary student fellowship program has received continuous funding from ASLAP since inception of the fellowship program in 2009.  Furthermore, the UIC veterinary staff has hosted summer veterinary students for comprehensive 3-month fellowships for over 20 years.  The summer fellowship is divided into three four-week rotations, small animal, large animal/experimental surgery, and the nonhuman primate colony.  Students receive intensive training in laboratory animal medicine, including both didactic and applied components.  They are given frequent opportunities to practice medical and technical skills associated with the successful practice of laboratory animal medicine.  The program also encompasses aspects of laboratory animal husbandry, which allows students to gain perspective on daily husbandry activities, and how husbandry practices impact the management of a particular species.  Students must be able to commit to a 12-week period between May and August.

Throughout the year, the BRL staff sponsor investigator seminars. Topics in the past have included mouse breeding colony management, real-time automated genotyping, and biological materials quality assurance.

The training session will cover handling, oral gavage and injection/blood collection methods in mice. The BRL will provide the training animals and supplies. Individuals attending are expected to participate and, at a minimum, be willing to pick up a mouse and perform an intraperitoneal injection.

RSVP for this course using the calendar below. 

The purpose of the course is to provide training on key perioperative principles for personnel conducting survival surgery with research rodents at University of Illinois Chicago. The course includes information on instrument sterilization, surgical area preparation, animal preparation, aseptic technique, and post-operative care. Prior experience in surgery is not expected. This class session includes a lecture and hands-on exercises. Participants are required to register for the class online.

RSVP for this course using the calendar below. 

• 2024 Per Diem Analysis
• Rodent Genotyping

• 2023 AAALAC

• Waste Anesthetic Gases (WAG)
• 2022 Per Diem Analysis
• Visitor Policy
• Sources of Mice

• Human Xenografts

• 2020 AAALAC

• Rodent Biosecurity
• Surgery, Lab, Imaging Support
• 2019 Per Diem Analysis

• Compassion Fatigue
• 2017 AAALAC Animal Care Program Updates
• 2018 Per Diem Analysis

• Environmental Enrichment
• AAALAC
• Building Security
• Rodent Biosecurity

• Anesthesia and Analgesia of Mice and Rats
• Rodent Ecological Status
• Genetic Monitoring of Rodents
• Lab Animal Allergies

Access Rodent Handling and Technique videos here.

The websites listed below offer video and training resources for common rodent procedures:

1. National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
2. Procedures With Care
3. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE)
4. Norecopa

1. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
2. Americans for Medical Progress
3. Animal Welfare Information Center
4. Foundation for Biomedical Research
5. National Association for Biomedical Research
6. Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research
7. Scientists Center for Animal Welfare
8. UIC Animal Care Committee (ACC)

For more information regarding specific rodent procedures or techniques, please contact a member of the BRL veterinary staff.