The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is made up of over a dozen members, including Olds College staff members, an external veterinarian, community members, Olds College students and a member from a partner institution, whose role is to review and approve the use of animals at Olds College for teaching, research and programming, based on the requirements of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC).
The IACUC reviews and approves all Animal Use Protocols (AUPs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prior to animal acquisition and use to ensure the appropriate care of and use of animals at Olds College to meet learning, research and programming objectives.
Chair, Olds College Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (TACLP)
Irene Wenger is the Chair of the Olds College Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Her other role at Olds College is as Manager, Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production (TACLP) with Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI).
Irene obtained her B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Alberta and a M.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan with a focus in both degrees on animal agriculture, specifically swine production and management. She earned her Ph.D. in Public Health Sciences from the (now) School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Her research focused on the task-specific air contaminant exposures of specialty-area pig barn workers.
Irene came to Olds College from the University of Alberta, where she was a Research Project Manager for large, complex, multi-year, multi-institution, multi-million dollar and multi-stakeholder/funder projects in Agriculture. For six years, Irene also sat on the University of Alberta Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) - Livestock.
Email: iwenger@oldscollege.ca
As the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Coordinator, Bruna’s responsibilities are focused on ensuring Olds College follows the Canadian Council on Animal Care policies and guidelines.
For that, I organize the IACUC activities (meetings, site assessment visits, post approval monitoring, animal welfare assessments) and documentation (receive and manage new animal use protocols, amendments and renewals and assist protocol authors, produce IACUC documentation, produce and update IACUC policies, forms and other documents).
I graduated as a veterinarian in Brazil (Universidade Federal do Parana), where I also did a Masters in Animal Welfare. I came to Canada in 2017 to do a PhD in Animal Welfare at the University of Saskatchewan, which I completed in 2022.
I love working with animal care and welfare, that is my passion. Besides that, I find it very interesting getting to know the different courses and research projects involving animals in the college.
I love spending time with my husband and 2 kids. I also love travelling and reading.
Thania is the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) administrator. She holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine from Ceará State University in Brazil and a Master’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Alberta. In her role, Thania is responsible for drafting letters of approval, tracking animal use, supporting the IACUC coordinator and chair, along with other administrative supports.
She enjoys learning about the research projects and courses involving animals at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology. Outside of work, Thania loves reading and spending quality time playing with her two daughters.
Email: tmoraes@oldscollege.ca