The Animal Care Facility (ACF) at the Faculty of Medicine of the American University of Beirut was established in 1950 with the main goal to ensure that healthy animals are available for use by faculty members and students who have received approval to perform research, and/or teaching on animal subjects.
ACF is now located in an independent new building in lower campus, the Facilities Satellite-2 (FS2), consisting of four floors, and the sub-basement of the Diana Tamari Sabbagh (DTS) building
IACUC approved protocols that are currently conducted in the ACF entitle the use of many types of animals ranging from sheep, pigs, rabbits, chicken, rats and mice.
In line with new research applications that are emerging worldwide, the ACF has now acquired Behavioral Core Facility labs.
In addition, the ACF accommodates a state of the art transgenic unit where many strains of mice, including immunocompromised and genetically modified mice, are being housed and bred.
The ACF and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) oversee the work of other satellite facilities in the Biology Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences in 2 locations, one on campus and the other is the AUB farm in the Bekaa region.
The ACF functions in compliance with the Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (USA), and adopts the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. in order to prepare for the international accreditation by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC).