Reducing administrative burden in preclinical research: 5 tips for streamlining animal studies

Preclinical research, also known as non-clinical research, is one of the first steps in developing medical treatments. During the preclinical research phase, potential treatments are evaluated in laboratories and animal studies before human trials begin.

This is a very critical step in the research lifecycle, but the administrative burden can be intense for the many team members supporting preclinical programs. Committee administrators and animal facility staff often juggle multiple requirements, including protocol tracking, development and review, animal procurement compliance, veterinary care, invoicing, and reporting, tasks that often consume time that could be better spent supporting high-impact science.

In this blog, we’ll review five strategies research organizations can use to reduce preclinical administrative burden without compromising compliance.

1. Centralize Protocol and Compliance Management

Managing animal protocols often involves disparate systems, spreadsheets, emails, and even physical paperwork. This variety of data sources can lead to version control issues, lost information, and ultimately regulatory risks, especially when workflows have not been standardized or simplified with software built for research administration.

A centralized, cloud-based repository or portal for protocol submission, review, and approval can help ensure everything is documented in one secure platform, reducing errors or duplicated effort and increasing accountability.

2. Automate Routine Vet Care and Reporting

From health checks and post-op observations to cage-side logs, daily vet care requires a high level of effort to manage, especially if you are still using a paper-based system. Automating these tasks with a platform that reflects the most up-to-date changes can significantly lighten the load for both vet techs and your research staff.

Platforms like Cayuse Vet Care that offer mobile access to quickly report cageside health observations and incidents, accurately manage censuses, and organize staffing schedules can set your department up for long-term success. This not only saves time but also ensures nothing slips through the cracks when animal health and safety are on the line.

3. Simplify Scheduling and Task Management

Coordinating personnel across multiple facilities can be challenging and unintentionally introduce costly mistakes.

Since schedules and tasks can constantly change at animal research facilities, your staff and research teams need to stay up to date with the latest information that can help with assignment tracking, staff scheduling, and ownership over who needs to complete specific tasks and when they are due. Additionally, access to real-time data is especially valuable during audits or when working with lean teams under staffing constraints.

Modern vivarium operation software allows animal facility managers to easily facilitate animal procurement, oversee inventory, and showcase real-time data via accessible digital platforms.

4. Integrate Animal Research with Broader Research Operations

Animal studies don’t exist in a silo—they’re often part of a larger research project. Integrating animal facility management with your organization’s IRB, IBC, grant administration, and protocol systems helps administrators maintain a clearer picture of project statuses and compliance across the board. These integrations also helpfully reduce duplicate data entry and ease reporting with fast, self-service access to necessary information across teams and departments.

5. Invest in Scalable, Future-Ready Solutions

As your research programs grow, the old, paper-based methods for task and compliance management become unsustainable, introducing delays and errors to your preclinical projects. Choosing a cloud-based platform that scales with your organization ensures your team can increase collaboration, improve efficiency, and maintain compliance without expending effort that would be better spent on other essential tasks.