May 2000 News

OPRR's Division of Animal Welfare becomes OLAW

May 5, 2000

As part of a National Institutes of Health reorganization, the Division of Animal Welfare of the Office for Protection from Research Risks (OPRR) has now become the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW). The new name went into effect March 2, 2000.

OLAW will continue to be responsible for all the animal-related functions of OPRR, including implementing and interpreting the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, administering an educational program for PHS-supported institutions and investigators, negotiating Animal Welfare Assurances, and evaluating compliance with PHS Policy.

OLAW also has a new address: Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, National Institutes of Health, 6705 Rockledge Drive, RKL1, Suite 1050, MSC 7982, Bethesda, MD 20892-7982. Phone and fax numbers will remain unchanged.

They have a new web address as well. You can find the OLAW web site here.

OLAW will no longer issue "OPRR Reports--Dear Colleague" letters. Instead, information that affects institutions holding Animal Welfare Assurances will appear as notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts and will be posted on the OLAW web site.

If you wish to receive e-mail notification of such notices, you may subscribe to a newly created OLAW LISTSERV by sending an e-mail to LISTSERV@LIST.NIH.GOV with the following text in the message body: <<subscribe OLAW-L your name>> (LISTSERV will get your e-mail address from the "From:" address of your e-mail message.)