The University Committee on Use and Care of Animals (UCUCA) will transition from one IT system to another in the next few weeks.
The UCUCA office, with assistance from Information and Technology Services, plans to move from eSirius to eResearch Animal Management (eRAM), a new Web-based system to manage animal research protocols, regulatory processes, and the ordering and tracking of animals used in research at U-M. This will streamline the application, review and approval process by eliminating redundancies currently found in the eSirius protocol application.
In addition, eRAM will allow investigators, departments and units to better manage protocol and animal use data. To learn about the new features in eRAM and to sign up for upcoming training courses go to cgi.research.umich.edu/training/ucuca.
eRAM will go live on April 18, and new protocols can be entered into eRAM on that date. Renewal protocols and amendments to existing protocols can be entered into eRAM as of May 2. As UCUCA begins the move to the new system, its office offers the following tips to ease the transition:
• Anyone with access to eSirius automatically will have access to eRAM. In addition, all personnel listed on a protocol will have access and be able to view their protocols in eRAM.
• Now there are four different types of amendments to a protocol: Personnel Amendments, Funding Amendments, Scientific Amendments and Principal Investigator (PI) Changes. Since eRAM will allow users to submit different types of amendments at the same time, there is no longer any need to wait until a Scientific Amendment is complete to submit a Personnel Amendment.
• Only a PI can start a new protocol. Once the protocol has been started, the PI easily can add personnel and assign someone from the laboratory to be an editor on the protocol. From that point, either the PI or the editor(s) can continue working on the protocol.
• All new personnel on protocols will have eRAM “view only” access once the PI enters them onto the protocol. If personnel need to be able to edit a protocol on behalf of the PI, the PI can add them as editors on a protocol.
For more information regarding the transition to eRAM, UCUCA or anything else related to animal work or compliance, contact the UCUCA Office at [email protected] or 763-8028.
