Every day and with every interaction, animals learn how to respond to the people in their research environment. Positive reinforcement training (PRT) techniques can improve animals’ level of compliance with research tasks, as well as their physiological response to their environment. It’s critical that IACUC members have a working knowledge of classical and operant conditioning in order to critically assess whether research proposals include appropriate PRT. On April 17, PRIM&R hosted a webinar to instruct IACUC professionals and members about PRT. Kelly Morrisroe, a research scientist and primate trainer at the Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) at the University of Washington, served as the speaker. After the webinar, the presenter responded to some of the attendee questions that time didn’t permit us to address live. We’re pleased to share those responses with the readers of Ampersand. Read more