Course Home   Chapter One   Chapter Two   Chapter Three   Chapter Four   Chapter Five   Chapter Six

IACUC Protocol Review – Overview

As we learned in Chapter 4/Week 4, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is the cornerstone of animal welfare oversight within a research institution. The mandated IACUC oversight functions are:

• Semiannual evaluation of the Animal Care and Use Program;
• Semiannual inspection of facilities;
• Report to the Institutional Official (and to the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, OLAW);
• Review of animal use protocols;
• Review of animal welfare concerns;
• Suspension of animal activities in the event of non-compliance; and
• Advice on the Animal Care and Use Program, facilities and personnel training.

Of these responsibilities, the IACUC is perhaps most often identified among the public and the research community alike with the review of animal use protocols. This is also the area in which non-affiliated and other lay IACUC members can have a direct and measurable impact on institutional animal welfare.

Federal regulations require an IACUC-approved animal use protocol before an animal activity can begin, and IACUC review is performed to determine that animal activities are or will be performed according to the Animal Welfare Regulations (AWRs) and/or PHS Policy and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.