Portland, Ore.

OHSU's Oregon Regional Primate Research Center has been given full accreditation - with no recommendations for improvement - by the international organization that evaluates the use of animals in medical research.

The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) has issued a continued full accreditation to the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, located at OHSU's West Campus. This marks the 26th consecutive year the primate research center has maintained its accreditation, a hallmark for medical research facilities.

What is unusual about this year's AAALAC certification letter is that it included no recommendations for improvement. Generally, letters sent to animal care programs contain at least a few recommendations for ways to improve the animals' care.

"OHSU and the primate research center can be very proud of such recognition from this international organization of professionals in animal care," said Bryan Ogden, D.V.M., associate director of the OHSU Department of Comparative Medicine. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently made a surprise inspection visit to the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center and found no areas of non-compliance.

In evaluating the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, AAALAC inspected every aspect of animal care, including:

• Proper training and continuing education for animal care personnel
     
• The psychological well-being of the research animals
     
• Humaneness of the research
     
• Size and cleanliness of animals' cages
     
• Standards that ensure as few animals as possible are used in research

AAALAC is a private, nonprofit organization that conducts evaluations of animal care programs to ensure that the animals are healthy and receiving excellent care.

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