UConn Told To Return Funds

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UConn Told To Return Funds Violations Of Animal Welfare Rules Prompt Order

Against

Health Center By GRACE E. MERRITT | Courant Staff Writer

January 25, 2008

FARMINGTON € ¦’· - The National Institutes of Health has ordered the

University

of Connecticut Health Center to return some of the grant money given for brain

experiments

on monkeys, because of violations of animal welfare regulations.

 

The federal agency asked UConn this week to return $65,005 of the grant because

of violations in the primate lab, where researchers drilled holes into monkeys'

skulls and implanted steel coils into their brains to record eye movements for a

neuroscience experiment.

 

The university, which voluntarily stopped the research in August 2006, may

appeal

the decision.

" We are considering different options, including an appeal of this, "

said Carolyn Pennington, a health center communications officer. " They provided

very little details and we want to learn more about what our possible options

are. "

 

The lead researcher, David Waitzman, has received about $1.7 million in federal

funds since 1992, but is being asked to return grant money to cover only the

period

when violations were found.

 

The USDA fined the health center $5,532 last summer for seven violations found

during

inspections in October 2006 and last January. Federal inspectors found the

health

center failed to handle animals " in a manner that did not cause stress, trauma,

and unnecessary discomfort, " inadequately trained personnel, used outdated

drugs and animal food, and kept animals in a dirty room with peeling paint. Two

of the three monkeys involved in the research died.

 

The NIH's action came in response to a complaint by former UConn graduate

student

Justin Goodman, now a research associate for People for the Ethical Treatment of

Animals. Goodman, whose complaints also prompted the USDA inspections, noted

that

the NIH does not allow grants to be awarded to animal welfare violators. Goodman

is also calling for Waitzman to be barred from receiving future federal funding.

 

" He's shown time and time again that he can't keep up his end of the

agreement. People who abuse animals in their homes, they receive fines and they

are prohibited from having future contact with animals. We think the same rules

should apply to people who wear lab coats, " Goodman said.

 

The research, which was funded by the National Eye Institute, a branch of the

NIH,

studied the coordinated control of the eyes by the brain to direct the center of

gaze. It was designed to help clinicians diagnose and treat stroke, progressive

supranuclear palsy and other diseases.

 

The university's own animal care committee investigated the USDA findings at

the time and made several recommendations. Waitzman, who was given a letter of

reprimand,

ran out of funding and voluntarily stopped the research in August. 2006. This

summer,

Waitzman was promoted from associate professor to full professor.

 

Contact Grace E. Merritt at gmerritt

 

 

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

Confucius