Comparative Medicine Program
The Comparative Medicine Program (CMP) enhances excellence in research and teaching at Texas A&M through high quality animal care at an affordable cost to the faculty, consistent with the standards established by the “Guide for the Care & Use of Laboratory Animals” and all pertinent local, state, and federal laws.
The Comparative Medicine Program (CMP) is the centrally administered support service for animal research and teaching programs at Texas A&M.
The program’s facilities and services are available for all Texas A&M campus affiliated faculty, staff, and students who have been approved to conduct animal research by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). CMP is accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) through its affiliation with other AAALAC-accredited Texas A&M programs.
CMP facilities offer housing and care for most standard laboratory animals. Specialized housing can be provided for biohazard projects and hazardous chemical projects. Varying degrees of animal isolation are available. Housing for large animal species is limited; however, various other campus animal care facilities can provide housing for large animals. CMP also offers a variety of services to institutional personnel. Additional information is available as one-page summaries of the Attending Veterinarian role and the Comparative Medicine Program overview.
Hours of Operation
CMP administrative offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and are closed on weekends and scheduled university holidays. Animal care is provided seven days a week/365 days a year (366 days if a leap year), and a duty supervisor and veterinarian are on call 24 hours a day.
CMP Handbook
- CMP Administration
- Animals and Their Environment
- Animal Health and Veterinary Care
- Animal Resource Sharing Program Summary
- Billing and Per Diems
- Emergency Contact Information After Hours/Weekends/Holidays
- Euthanasia of Animals
- Facility Access and Security
- Investigator Needs
- Purchase of Animals, Drugs, and Supplies
- Specialized Facilities and Services
- Transportation and Shipment of Animals
Forms
Animal Order Form
Investigators must complete an animal order form for ALL animal acquisitions. This includes any animals that will be housed at CMP, CMP maintained facilities, or other campus locations.
Animal Transfer Form
Investigators needing to transfer animals between AUPs or housing locations must complete and submit an animal transfer form for approval by CMP staff before the animals can be moved or used on the new AUP.
Health Cards
These cage cards are used to report various specific conditions/situations involving animals. The link opens an Acrobat document that describes and displays samples of the various types of cards.
Tissue Share Requests
Investigators who would like to receive animal tissue from the Tissue Share Program should complete and submit this form to CMP Health Division.
Live Animal Requests
Investigators who would like to add donated animals to their AUP from another investigator’s AUP through the Animal Resource Sharing Program should complete and submit this form to CMP Health Division.
Food Animal Requests
Anyone who would like to receive small, frozen rodents as a food source for other animals should complete and submit this form to CMP Health Division.
CMP Drug-Supply Request Form
This form is used by principal investigators to request supplies and non-controlled drugs from the CMP’s Laboratory Animal Resources and Research Facility (LARR). Please allow 1-2 weeks for your request to be filled.
Scheduled Drug Request Form
CMP has a small selection of scheduled drugs available for prescription use as long as the drug is listed on an approved AUP. Scheduled drugs are dispensed in maximum volumes of one week’s usage. Use this form to request scheduled drugs. Allow one week minimum for your order to be fulfilled. Special order or Class II drugs will require a longer time period. You will be billed for technician time as well as the supplies used.
Technical Services Request
CMP has technical staff to assist researchers with their projects on a fee-for-service basis. The scope of procedures is limited by staff availability and expertise. For more complicated or extensive procedures such as surgeries, contact Kelsey Johnson (kjohnson@tamu.edu) if you have not already had project meetings with the CMP team to discuss your procedures in detail.
Anesthesia and Surgical Record Form for Multiple Rodents
The sample is to be used to record information during surgery or other procedures that includes recording of anesthesia, analgesia, other agents (dosage, time & and route given), and has a section for monitoring during the procedure. This form can be used for 1-10 animals and meets requirements for recording procedures done on animals. Multiple forms may be used if there are more than 10 animals. Contact CMP if you would like an editable version.
Post-Surgical Observation Form for Rodents
Sample record to be used for tracking observations post-procedure. This form can be used on single or multiple animals and includes a chart with examples of multiple categories to monitor. This form meets requirements for post-procedural monitoring. Contact CMP if you would like an editable version.
Training
It is the responsibility of Texas A&M to assure that all Texas A&M and Texas A&M AgriLife Research personnel involved in the care, treatment, and use of animals in research and teaching are qualified to perform their duties. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) expects all personnel to participate in the Texas A&M Animal Care and Use Training Program to satisfy their training requirement. As part of the Animal Use Protocol (AUP) approval process, principal investigators must document the training and experience of their personnel.
Training Available on Traintraq:
The following courses are intended to provide education about handling laboratory animals at specific biosafety levels. The videos were created by the American Biological Safety Association. There are a few Texas A&M procedures that differ from the video, and those techniques will be covered in hands-on training. Once a TrainTraq course is completed, a certificate is generated as training documentation.
Search by Title to Access the Course
2111405 : Handling Laboratory Animals at Biosafety Level 1 – ABSL1 – Biosafety
2111386 : Handling Laboratory Animals at Biosafety Level 2 – ABSL2 – Biosafety
2111406 : Handling Laboratory Animals at Biosafety Level 3 – ABSL3 – Biosafety
Residency Training in Comparative Medicine
The Comparative Medicine Program, Texas A&M is inviting applications for a postdoctoral residency/graduate training position in laboratory animal medicine. The three-year postdoctoral (DVM) program is designed to support preparation toward American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM) board certification and provide a broad foundation in comparative medicine.
Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine
The Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM) provides transgenic core services to researchers within and outside The Texas A&M University System. Services include rederivation, cryopreservation, generation of transgenic mice and gene editing. Also, TIGM offers Texas A&M University System faculty with several strains of wild-type mice at a reduced cost. TIGM facilitates breakthroughs in science and medicine through internal research, scientific resources, investigator training, and provision of services to the scientific community at large.
For any transgenic needs or inquiries, please contact us at info@tigm.org
Contact Us
For additional information or questions, please contact Robert Rose, DVM, Comparative Medicine Program, Division of Research, Texas A&M University.