Veterinary Resources

All veterinary services at The University of Maryland, Baltimore campus are provided by Veterinary Resources. Veterinary Resources maintains oversight for the acquisition, care and use of all research animals on campus. All animal facilities and the care and use programs on campus are accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC) and meet federal laws and guidelines for the humane and appropriate care and use of laboratory animals. Animals are housed at nine locations; each of these facilities is maintained by a staff of experienced laboratory animal technicians.

The primary mission of Veterinary Resources is to provide humane and scientifically appropriate care of research animals at The University of Maryland, Baltimore. The facilities and program of animal care and use are maintained in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 and all subsequent revisions (regulated by the USDA), and Public Health Service (PHS) guidelines. Veterinary Resources provides service as economically as possible by having a centralized animal care staff and by wholesale purchase of feed, bedding, caging and husbandry supplies. PHS Resource Improvement Grants submitted by Veterinary Resources have also provided monies for large capital improvements on campus. Veterinary Resources is the service division of Comparative Medicine.


Comparative Medicine

Comparative Medicine was established as an Academic Program in 1989 by The Executive Committee of The School of Medicine. Faculty members in Comparative Medicine hold joint appointments in other departments. Areas of faculty expertise are in the fields of clinical laboratory animal medicine, surgery, comparative pathology, microbiology, immunology, genetics, and infectious diseases.

Comparative Medicine faculty members conduct independent and collaborative research in a variety of fields. They are available for consultation on animal research protocols, laboratory animal management, and development of grant applications proposing the use of animals. Members participate in the teaching of medical students as well as graduate and postdoctoral students. We also provide postdoctoral residency and graduate training programs for veterinarians in the fields of Laboratory Animal Medicine and Comparative Pathology.

As members of Veterinary Resources, these individuals provide veterinary supervision for husbandry and health care related to facilities management, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of intercurrent disease in research animals.


Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Each school has an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) whose members are appointed by the Dean. The committees review all proposed animal research and animal care and use to ensure compliance with the Animal Welfare Act and PHS Guidelines.