The IACUC Protocol Review Criteria

In order to maintain ethical standards and provide humane treatment, the IACUC asks researchers to consider the following and to show that you have considered all aspects when submitting your propoals. 

Monthly Proposal and Revision Deadlines

Protocols must be submitted and ready for IACUC review by the 1st of the month in order to be scheduled for that month’s review.  This includes addressing all questions and concerns in the pre-review.

No exceptions allowed.

  1. Provide written assurance that the proposed activities do not unnecessarily duplicate previous experiments.
  2. Use procedures that avoid or minimize discomfort to animals.
  3. Consider alternatives to procedures that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to the animals.
    •  The investigator should provide a written description of the methods and sources that he/she used when determining there were no available or acceptable alternatives.
  4. Agree to use appropriate sedation, analgesia or anesthesia when performing procedures that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to the animals
    • If a different procedure is justified for scientific reasons, then include the written justifications.
  5. You have consulted with an attending veterinarian or his/her designee for procedures that may cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress to the animals.
  6. Use anesthesia when performing procedures that use paralytics.
  7. Agree that at the end of the procedure or during the procedure, if appropriate, you will kill painlessly animals that would experience severe or chronic pain or distress that cannot be relieved.
  8. Provide living conditions for the animals that are appropriate for their species and contribute to their health and comfort.
    • A qualified veterinarian will direct the housing, feeding and non-medical care of the animals.
  9. You and anyone assisting with your research agree to be trained and appropriately qualified in those procedures.
  10. Provide pre-operative and post-operative care for an activities involving surgery.
    1. Use aseptic procedures when performing survival surgery.
    2. Conduct surgery on non-rodents in facilities intended for that purpose.
    3. You do not need to use a dedicated facility for non-major operative procedures or surgery on rodents. However, the procedure must be done using aseptic procedures.
  11. Unless justified in writing for scientific reasons, use an animal only once in a major operative procedure and allow it to recover.
  12. Use methods of euthanasia consistent with recommendations by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia, unless you can justify (in writing) a scientific reason for the deviation.