The Lebanese American University celebrated the inauguration of a $1.3 million facility for the care and handling of animals in research funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program, in a ceremony at the university’s Byblos campus on June 27, 2023. This facility is one of four impactful USAID ASHA grants, totaling over $4.9 million, which have allowed LAU to acquire and deploy numerous pieces of state-of-the art equipment, leveraging innovative technology used in the research and development of drugs, genetic sequencing, extended reality projects, and clinical training. USAID Lebanon Mission Director Eileen Devitt, Lebanese American University (LAU) President Dr. Michel Mawad, and LAU and Rizk Hospital faculty and staff attended the ceremony. The fully equipped research facility provides an exemplary case to how U.S. institutions can provide models for best practices moving forward. The newly inaugurated research facility will ensure that all research involving animals is compliant with thorough ethical standards as mandated by the U.S. Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW). Furthermore, the establishment of the facility also comes with a dedicated Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Abiding by widely accepted best practices, the LAU animal research lab will position itself well for eligibility and competitiveness for U.S. federal grant funding. ‘Today is special because it offers us another opportunity to convey the full measure of our gratitude to the American people, the American Government, and the U.S. Embassy for their boundless generosity which we so deeply appreciate. Our gratitude and sense of indebtedness to them is only matched by our determination to put their precious support to the best use possible,’ said LAU President Michel E. Mawad. In her remarks, USAID Lebanon Mission Director Eileen Devitt stated, ‘This facility is an example of the U.S. government’s partnership with LAU, and our common pursuit of the highest standards and values. In fact, American assistance is deeply rooted in our shared vision to expand research, maintain high quality institutional performance and ranking, and help graduate critical thinkers and doers.’ With the new USAID-provided equipment also comes the adoption of modern practices, which are modeled on those established by top U.S. institutions. The equipment will allow educators to integrate the use of innovative technology in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching, and thereby improve STEM-related pedagogies through new and revised syllabi. Through applying best practices and following rigorous empirical methods, learners and researchers across a variety of disciplines will be able to gain knowledge that may lead to science-driven advancements in health, environment, business, social equity, and more. Recently, LAU researchers utilizing ASHA-funded equipment identified the gene responsible for a rare disease afflicting a five-year-old child. –

Source: National News Agency-Lebanon