Public Comment requested on the NIH adopting the updated Guide

The National Institute's of Health has issued a Federal Register Notice requesting public comments on:

1) NIH’s adoption of the eighth edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and

2) NIH’s proposed implementation that would require that institutions perform at least one semiannual program and facility evaluation using the eighth edition by March 31, 2012.

NIH encourages comments to be entered at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/2011guidecomments/add.htm. Comments must be received on or before March 25, 2011. Comments will be made publicly available after March 25, 2011.

See the NIH Guide Notice: NOT-OD-11-042.

Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare Topic Index

The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) has created a Topic Index – a new online resource to OLAW Guidance by subject matter. Investigator can now browse and search OLAW responses to Frequently Asked Questions, Commentaries and Articles written by OLAW staff, plus Policy Notices published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

Go to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/olaw_topic_index.htm for more information.

International laws, regulations, and guidelines on human subject protections

The Office for Human Research Protections has just released a compendium of human subject protections laws, regulations, and guidelines (almost 1,100 in all) from 92 countries. The list includes web addresses to link directly to the law, regulation, or guideline of interest.

Go to http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/international/HSPCompilation.pdf for more information.

So, if you're planning an international-based research study, it would behoove you (I like that word!) to investigate whether or not additional research protections are required.