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PRIM&R Webinar

Enhancing Efficiency and Compliance with the CUSP Sharing Site

Purchase Recording

Overview

Join us for an in-depth introduction to the Compliance Use Standard Procedure (CUSP) Sharing Site, a free, NIH-supported online resource designed to help researchers and administrators develop high-quality animal research protocols with greater efficiency. The CUSP Sharing Site offers easy access to well-documented procedures for laboratory animals, field studies, and less commonly used species, such as cephalopods. This live webinar will feature a guided demonstration of the site, led by expert speakers who will show you how to find, evaluate, and integrate CUSP resources into your institution’s animal use protocols. By attending, you will gain practical skills to streamline protocol development, promote greater consistency across research teams, and disseminate best practices within your organization. Whether you are responsible for drafting protocols, overseeing research compliance, or supporting institutional animal care and use committees, this session will provide valuable tools to reduce administrative workload while maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare.

Audience

IACUC professionals at all levels, including:
  • Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) members and administrators who review, oversee, and support protocol development.
  • Research compliance and ethics officers seeking to ensure consistent, high-quality protocols while reducing administrative burden.
  • Principal investigators (PIs), research scientists, and lab managers who write and submit animal research protocols.
  • Veterinarians and veterinary staff involved in animal care program oversight and protocol refinement.
  • Institutional officials and program directors aiming to promote best practices and consistency in protocol review processes.
  • Research support staff or coordinators who assist investigators in preparing protocols.

Cost

Members: Free Nonmembers: $190
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You Will Learn To:

  • Describe the role of the CUSP Sharing Site as a crowd-sourcing tool to share knowledge within and between institutions’ animal research programs.
  • Understand Help Desk for easy sign up and access to CUSP.
  • Identify user roles and responsibility and discuss strategies for encouraging internal buy-in.

Credits Offered

CE Credit
Participants will receive a certificate of attendance that documents up to 1 continuing education credit hours for their attendance at this webinar. Certificates of attendance are useful for obtaining CE credits from professional associations. Each association's guidelines for accepting CE credit hours (in-person or virtual) may differ. Please consult the appropriate association representative for information on if, and how many, CE credits from this PRIM&R webinar may be used.
CPIA® Credit
Participants holding the Certified Professional in IACUC Administration (CPIA®) credential may apply 1 continuing education credit toward CPIA® recertification.

Presenters

Aubrey Schoenleben, PhD, CPIA

Director of Regulatory Affairs & External Partnerships in the Office of Animal Welfare at the University of Washington
Aubrey Schoenleben, PhD, CPIA, is Director of Regulatory Affairs & External Partnerships in the Office of Animal Welfare at the University of Washington (UW). In this role, she oversees regulatory reporting for the institution’s animal care program, manages collaborative research agreements, and helps lead efforts to develop an institutional 3Rs program that promotes refinement, reduction, and replacement in animal research. Aubrey also serves as an alternate member of the UW’s IACUC and leads the Compliance Unit Standard Procedures (CUSP) project through the Federal Demonstration Partnership—an initiative aimed at reducing administrative burden under the 21st Century Cures Act.Aubrey earned her PhD in Neurobiology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and holds a BS in Neuroscience and Psychology from Allegheny College. She is a Certified Professional IACUC Administrator (CPIA).

Michelle Brot, PhD

Scientific Reviewer at the Office of Animal Welfare at the University of Washington
Michelle Brot is a Scientific Reviewer at the Office of Animal Welfare at the University of Washington. She has been involved in the CUSP project since its inception and is a co-leader of the CUSP Education & Outreach Team. Michelle received a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Washington and has a research background studying cognition, movement, and neurotransmitters.

Julie M. Sharp, DVM, CPIA, DACLAM

Private consultant and the Executive Director of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Program at the University of California, San Francisco
Julie M. Sharp, D.V.M., C.P.I.A., D.A.C.L.A.M., is a private consultant and the Executive Director of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Program at the University of California, San Francisco. Previously she served in animal program leadership roles at Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Research Foundation for the State University of New York. She has expertise in regulatory compliance and IACUC administration in state, private, and government-based animal research facilities. She received her veterinary medical degree from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. Dr. Sharp is a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, an ad hoc Specialist for AAALAC International, and actively participates in the Federal Demonstration Partnership’s Compliance Unit Standard Procedures initiative as a member of the Steering Committee and Co-Chair of the Help Desk Team.

Scott Bury, PhD

Director for the Office of Animal Welfare Assurance and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Scott Bury is the Director for the Office of Animal Welfare Assurance and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Bury received his B.S. in Cell and Structural Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Washington. He was worked in Animal Research Administration since 2008 and is a Certified Professional IACUC Administrator since 2012.