About

The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) relies on thousands of dedicated volunteers every year to effectively and collaboratively contribute to the ethical care and use of animals in science, and to carry out its mandate. We are deeply grateful for these individuals and would like to thank all those who nominated their peers for this award.

The CCAC is pleased to announce that this year's winner of the Harry C. Rowsell Award for Outstanding Service to the CCAC is Dr. Craig Bihun. He is the Senior Veterinarian at the National Research Council Canada (NRC), overseeing the ethical care and use of animals across the organization. He also served as a consultant veterinarian to multiple academic and private institutions, in particular the Coley Pharmaceutical Group, which was later acquired by Pfizer. Dr. Bihun helped design and inaugurate their state-of-the-art animal care facility and oversaw its accreditation by the CCAC and the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International.

Dr. Bihun also chaired the NRC’s Joint Committee on Animal Care and spearheaded efforts for the NRC to sign a memorandum of understanding agreeing to participate in the CCAC program, the first Government of Canada department to do so. This led the way for other government departments to make similar declarations.

Dr. Bihun’s deep personal commitment to improving the welfare of animals in science is evidenced by the many hours he dedicated to the CCAC over the course of his career. He was not only a member of 16 institutional animal care committees but was also a member of the CCAC Board of Directors, the Assessment and Certification Committee, and the Public Affairs and Communications Committee, as well as a subject matter expert on many guidelines subcommittees, and a presenter at CCAC national workshops. He also dedicated much of his time to training personnel in the field of laboratory animal research, both through teaching programs at the University of Guelph, St. Lawrence College, Algonquin College, and Vanier College, and through the hands-on training of many technical staff at the various institutions where he served as a consultant veterinarian.

Quick to lend a hand wherever he can, Dr. Bihun’s great impact on the welfare of animals in science can be felt within the CCAC community, the NRC, across the country, and around the world. The CCAC would like to thank him for his dedication, hard work, and support over the course of his career.