Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

The IACUC must review and approve all animal research in order to maintain the university's high research standards. It does so by following federal and state regulations, which reflect the general concerns of society, along with professional standards of ethical conduct that govern the use of animal subjects in scientific and educational activities. 

• Governmental statutes, including the Public Health Service Animal Welfare Policy, require that all research institutions establish an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to oversee the proper care and use of laboratory animals.
• The IACUC relies on Animal Welfare Regulations (CFR, Title 9, Chapter 1, Subchapter A, Parts 1, 2 and 3) and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals to ensure the university is in compliance with all federal, state and local regulations.
• University policy and the Office for Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) also guide the IACUC.
• The university's animal care program and laboratory animal facilities are fully accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International, a voluntary peer review process.
  • AAALAC accreditation is the gold standard in animal care and indicates to external organizations, including funding bodies and governmental authorities, that the university's animal care program conforms to internationally accepted standards.

Animal Resource.  The University at Buffalo (UB) includes 7 animal facilities located across UB’s 3 campuses with professional staff and specialized programs that support the research and educational uses of laboratory animals. These facilities are fully accredited by AAALAC, International and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations and NIH policy.  The Laboratory Animal Facilities (LAF) consists of 3 full-time, NYS-licensed veterinarians, 5 full-time, NYS-licensed veterinary technicians, a Facility Manager, 18 Animal Care Technicians, a Finance Director and Administrative Support Personnel.  Services provided by LAF include quarantine services, surgical services, anesthetic support, 24/7 on-call veterinary emergency services, clinical management, necropsy, training in specialized techniques (including inhalation anesthesia of all species, blood collection, aseptic surgical technique), animal health surveillance, rodent breeding colony management and controlled drug procurement at 5 locations.  Core services provided by the Vivarium include husbandry, daily observations, special request services (special diets, water, fasting), and cage wash, autoclave and room sanitation services for rodents, sheep, pigs, dogs, rabbits, amphibians and fish. Major equipment includes conventional and ventilated caging, laminar flow hoods and biosafety cabinets for barrier maintenance of rodents, dedicated ABSL-2 and ABSL-3 mouse housing & procedural space, inhalation anesthesia machines and surgical space for rodents and large animals, adjacency to the university’s imaging core capable of rodent (9T) and larger animal (3T) MRI, adjacency to rodent optical imaging and rodent irradiation cores, autoclaving for surgery packs and CO2 euthanasia stations.    

Statement created by JP on  10/07/2025