The University of Louisiana at Lafayette-New Iberia Research Center is actively committed to quality in the field of biomedical research as evidenced in our internal quality assurance activities to assure integrity in our processes, products, and/or studies. Utilizing our internal audit processes, we are continually evaluating our standards of performance to strive for system improvement. Our Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) provides Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulatory compliance evaluations, task specific protocol compliance evaluations, Contract Research Organization (CRO) facility (or study specific) inspections, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) compliance evaluations, and oversees our onsite archives.

Membership in the Society of Quality Assurance provides a vital informational link to assist in staying abreast of regulatory and industry changes in biomedical research. Our quality assurance unit offers an extensive regulatory experience background including Good Laboratory Practice (GLPs), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMPs), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA), Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO), American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), and College of American Pathologists (CAP). This diverse regulatory experience promotes flexibility in system evaluation.

On-site archives are available to meet long-term record and/or specimen retention needs. By design, the designated archive is a secure, environmentally controlled, limited access area. After hours, additional on-site security is provided by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Police Department. To preserve specimen integrity, room temperature, refrigerator and/or freezer (-70°C) specimen storage is available. Emergency generators assure uninterrupted power for optimal specimen storage. Data and magnetic media integrity is preserved in fire resistant cabinets and insulated transformers. Our indexing system assures rapid retrieval of archived articles.