Welcome to our vibrant community here at the Bioscience Support Facility (BSF)!
To gain access to BSF spaces, you must complete the following:
1. You must be added to an approved Animal Use Protocol (AUP):
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- If you have not been added to an AUP, speak with your Principal Investigator (PI) or laboratory manager to submit an AUP amendment.
- Ensure you receive a recent AUP version for review. You must read the AUP before proceeding.
2. Complete relevant training:
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- Refer to Animal User Training Guidelines and the Department of Comparative Medicine (DCM) to determine necessary training.
- Complete Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) training deemed necessary by your PI or laboratory manager.
- All animal users must complete the Training Request Form and submit it to dcmtraining@utoronto.ca
- All users must complete the ethics module and relevant species-specific modules.
- If you plan to perform surgery, you must sign up for the anesthesia and surgery modules.
- Aquatics users must complete the Documentation of External Training and submit it to aec.training@utoronto.ca
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- Training must be completed in a timely manner. Gaps between completion of training and animal use may warrant review/retraining on a case-by-case basis.
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- Undergraduates continuing to work with animals for graduate school must recomplete training.
3. Acquire a Fob:
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- Contact your home department for a fob. Your home department will provide access to laboratory spaces while the BSF will provide access to animal spaces.
- You need your fob ID to register for the BSF Orientation and Facility Tour (next step).
- Do NOT share fobs. Report stolen/lost fobs immediately.
- If you need to extend your fob’s expiration, contact your home department no less than 4 weeks before expiration.
4. Register for the BSF Orientation and Facility Tour:
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- Once necessary EHS courses are complete and both DCM Online Ethics and DCM Animal-Specific modules are completed, register for the BSF Orientation and Facility Tour.
- Animal handlers who completed the online portion of the DCM Animal-Specific modules but have not completed the in-person component may register only if they have a scheduled date for an in-person session.
- You will also be added to the BSF email list. Emails will outline important changes, updates, or relevant new items/services.
5. CL2 Training
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- To work with CL2 agents and in CL2 spaces, graduate students and researchers must complete EHS532 Respiratory Protection, the N95 fit test, and CL2 training.
- Undergraduates shadowing CL2 work or working in CL2 spaces must complete EHS532 Respiratory Protection, the N95 fit test, and CL2 training. Undergraduates will receive conditional training, meaning the training will require renewal if/when graduate work begins. Please email bsf@utoronto.ca regarding conditional approval.
NOTE: Additional training is provided on an ongoing basis as necessary to address revisions to regulations, animal care issues, changes in best practices, or at the request of researchers.