Animal Resources Division (ARD)

The Animal Resources Division (ARD) at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) assists our research community in furthering our fundamental understanding of human biology and disease with the goal of developing new cancer therapies, improving recovery from heart disease, understanding neurological disorders and finding new treatments for infectious and other diseases.

Our staff are skilled, compassionate experts in laboratory animal health. We provide essential animal care and offer project-specific technical services and training for pre-clinical research at the RI-MUHC.

How we work
Resources for research
News
Contact us
Further reading

How we work

We work with pediatric and adult research programs, to accelerate the translation of biomedical research discoveries to the improved understanding of human health and the treatment of disorders and diseases.

We have a comprehensive team of clinical veterinarians, animal health technicians, and animal care workers with the highest integrity and respect for the wellbeing of the animals involved in research and education.

Our program is certified by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). Our veterinarians are all members of l’Ordre des Médecins Vétérinaires du Québec (OMVQ), and hold post-graduate certification in laboratory animal medicine and research.

Our program was developed in partnership with McGill University, sharing McGill Animal Compliance Office (ACO) policies and procedures. Oversight from two RI-MUHC Facility Animal Care Committees (FACCs) includes the participation of veterinarians, animal health technicians, researchers and students as well as lay representatives from the local community.

We proactively follow the 3Rs tenet of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement in animal care; always seeking new ways to reduce the number of animals required for human health research, refining scientific methods to improve animal wellbeing and replacing animal tests with alternatives whenever possible.

Resources for research

ARD supports research at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, as well as at McGill University and other affiliated institutions.

To review the ARD resources below, access to the RI-MUHC Portal (intranet) is required. (To request Portal access, RI-MUHC researchers, trainees and staff may complete the online Portal Access request form.)