Safety in Animal Research

Last Revised: August 14, 2026

ppe EHRS provides services and resources to ensure worker health and safety while working in the University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR) department. EHRS participates in New Employee Orientation training along with an annual training for the entire staff. Biosafety, Hazard Communication, Hearing Conservation, Workplace Safety, Ergonomics, and Materials Handling are the main focus during training and throughout the year.

In the event of a worker injury, the Incident Reporting Form must be completed.

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Animal User Personal Safety Assurance (AUPSA) Training and Survey

Animal User Personal Safety Assurance (AUPSA) Training and Survey

You are being asked to take the Animal User Personal Safety Assurance (AUPSA) Training and Survey to better meet the occupational health requirements of Federal regulatory agencies (e.g. NIH, OLAW) and accrediting associations (e.g. AAALAC). This training/survey is a risk-based occupational health program to protect personnel from animal-related risks.

The Animal User Personal Safety Assurance (AUPSA) Module and Survey is a short, 5-slide training intended to assist individuals in evaluating potential health risks associated with working with animals or in proximity to animals or animal caging. It provides an opportunity to address specific occupational health concerns through consultation with an occupational health provider affiliated with Occupational Medicine-Main Campus (for Philadelphia staff), Occupational Medicine-Chester County (for New Bolton Center staff), or Penn Student Wellness (for students).

Additionally, the AUPSA training module/survey will help determine whether individuals who work with animals or in proximity to animals or animal caging, are recommended to schedule an appointment with an occupational medicine provider.

Completion of the module and survey is a mandatory annual requirement for all populations that work with animals or in proximity to animals/caging for more than 5 hours/week. The survey results are conﬁdential and only reviewed by a designated occupational medical provider and/or program manager. Here is a link to the AUPSA Training Module and Survey.

If your health status changes or you develop allergy symptoms that may be related to your work with animals after you have completed the AUPSA training module/survey, please contact occupational medicine to schedule an appointment. The cost of the occupational medicine appointment is covered by your employer.

Questions regarding this module and survey should be directed to aupsa-health-survey@lists.upenn.edu

Occupational Medicine-Main Campus (for Philadelphia Staff) - 215-662-2354
Occupational Medicine-Chester County (for New Bolton Center Staff) - 610-444-6214
Penn Student Wellness (for Students) - 215-746-3535

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Animal Hazard Briefings

PURPOSE OF BRIEFINGS

The purpose of in-person briefings is to boost collaboration and promote a healthy and safe workplace among researchers and ULAR staff at Penn.

Connect PIs and researchers with the ULAR staff who support their research by providing daily care to our research animals.
Educate ULAR Animal Care Technicians(ACTs), Husbandry Supervisors, and Facility Managers regarding the hazards involved with working with biological agents, recombinant nucleic acids, and human pathogens and to clarify best practices to reduce the risk of exposure or injury to animal facility staff.
Coordinate anticipated housing and care needs, experimental timeline, and potential health outcomes of their animals.
Improve our hazard communication program as essential to our institutional veterinary accreditation (AAALAC) and federal regulatory compliance.

BRIEFING TOPICS & QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Research: What is the background of the study and animal work? How will this study improve human understanding or health?
Potential Hazards: What pathogens/hazardous agents will be used in the animals? Why are they assigned as ABSL-2 and how should these agents be handled especially by personnel that work with the animals?
Risk Mitigation: What measures are taken to reduce any risks to staff; and beyond wearing appropriate PPE, what additional precautions must be taken?
Logistics: What is the length of study and the number of cages involved? Are there any special needs? How will used/dirty PPE and cages be disposed of? When is change day and who will be your ACT?
Animal Welfare: How will the animals be impacted and when should animal illness be reported to the clinical team?

TIPS FOR A PRODUCTIVE BRIEFING

Describe your research study using lay terms targeted towards an audience of diverse scientific and educational backgrounds.
Use an informal, conversational, and approachable style. Each person in the meeting should introduce themselves.
Plan for this meeting to last around 20 minutes; no PowerPoint is required.
To schedule your Animal Hazard Briefing, please fill out the Briefing Request Form.
Once scheduled with your ULAR facility staff, please inform the Biosafety Team (biosafety@lists.upenn.edu).

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What animal research requires a briefing?
- Briefings are required for animal research assigned to ABSL-2 containment. Common examples include, but are not limited to, the use of human source material likes cells and tissue, some viral vectors like lentiviral and adenoviral vectors, and pathogenic agents like LCMV and influenza.
How often are briefings required?
- Briefings are required annually while work is ongoing. Briefings should occur at least a month before work begins.
How will I know my research requires a briefing?
- Your lab will be notified of the briefing requirement during animal research protocol reviews. Briefings will be requested during full protocols reviews and when new material requiring ABSL-2 containment is added during an amendment review.
Do I have to provide a PowerPoint during my animal hazard briefing?
- No, please do not provide a PowerPoint. This is an informal conversation about your research. Most facilities do not have the technology set-up.
Who should be invited to the animal hazard briefing?
- ULAR Animal Care Technicians(ACTs), Husbandry Supervisors, Facility Managers, Clinical Staff, and Biosafety Officers (EHRS) should be invited to the briefings. Principle investigators and researchers most familiar with the work must also attend.
I don't know what to include in my lab's animal hazard briefing. Who can help me with this?
- Reach out to the Biosafety Team (biosafety@lists.upenn.edu) for help! Agent reference cards (listed below) are also helpful.
Can I order new animals or transfer animals into ABSL-2 containment without first conducting an animal hazard briefing?
- No, an animal hazard briefing is required for the procurement and transfer of animals into ABSL-2 containment.

AGENT REFERENCE CARDS

Agent reference cards include the hazard associated with an agent or biological material, the risk the agent poses to an animal care technician (ACT), ways to mitigate risk to the ACT, and emergency response in case an ACT is ever exposed to the agent. These agent reference cards may be used to discuss these topics during an Animal Hazard Briefing.