FAMU Director to Serve on International Board of Trustees

The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools, Inc. (AMHPS) has appointed Tanise L. Jackson, DVM, director, Office of Animal Welfare and Research Integrity in the Division of Research at Florida A&M University (FAMU) as the new AMHPS’ representative to the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International Board of Trustees. Her first Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for September 2009, according to Phyllis R. Champion, president and chief executive officer for AMHPS. FAMU is an AMHPS member institution.

Henry Lewis, PharmD., professor and dean of FAMU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS) nominated Jackson.

Jackson has more than 23 years of experience in animal laboratory animal care and more than 20 years of administrative experience in managing laboratory animal facilities. She totally revamped the laboratory animal programs at FAMU and successfully secured both initial AAALAC accreditation and has had this accreditation reaffirmed since 2003. Since 1997, Jackson has served as the director of the Animal Welfare and Research Integrity and assistant professor at FAMU’s COPPS. She also serves as administrator for the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

“This appointment is of tremendous significance,” said Larry Robinson, Ph.D., vice president for Research at FAMU. “The AMHPS recognizes the stellar career of Dr. Jackson and acknowledges her ability to contribute to the integrity of laboratory animal care on a national level.”

Jackson holds the B.S. degree in animal science from Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and the doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Tuskegee University. She has received Animal Facilities Improvement Grants from the National Center for Research Resources. She has professional membership in the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science, and has served as consultant for Xavier University Animal Care Program in New Orleans, La.; Jackson State University Animal Care Programs; and as a site visitor with the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, Bethesda, MD.