eResearch eRAM

eRAM is a web-based system that accommodates the electronic management of Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) animal use research protocols, controlled substances, and the associated ordering, census, and invoicing of animals for the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) at the University of Michigan.

System Goals

  • Increase efficiency and effectiveness of business processes
  • Reduce the administrative burden placed on investigators and staff who prepare, review, and approve applications
  • Reduce compliance risk
  • Provide better information management and ability to respond to audits

Guiding Principles

Successful projects need core agreements against which decisions and ideas are reflected. The eRAM team members have committed to the following:

  • Provide necessary protocol, animal management and controlled substance in research registration data for investigator, unit, and institutional management, serving as the single source for protocol and animal management data.
  • Maintain a balance between minimum requirements needed to submit a protocol and a desire for more institutional data.
  • Maintain a balance between unit flexibility and institutional consistency with ease of use being the prevailing criterion.
  • Maintain compatibility with existing institutional systems.
  • Maintain maximum system transparency for all users.
  • Maintain a high level of sensitivity to the need to balance transparency of information against the need for the safety and security of investigators.