Veterinary
Medicine: about IACUC
What is the
IACUC:
- The IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee)
is a standing committee whose composition and responsibilities
are mandated by the Animal Welfare Act as amended in 1985.
- By law, the IACUC must be composed
of, at a minimum, three members: a Chair, a veterinarian with
training or experience in Laboratory Animal Medicine, and a non-affiliated
member.
- The AFRIMS IACUC contains at least
one voting member from each scientific department.
- It is the responsibility of the
Chief Executive Officer of the research institute, in AFRIMS case,
the Director, AFRIMS, to appoint the IACUC. All IACUC minutes
and reports are reviewed and signed by the Director, AFRIMS.
Role of IACUC:
- Acts as an advisory body to the AFRIMS Director, the
IACUC ensures that all animals in experimental research are used
appropriately and treated in accordance with the highest standards
of humane care. The IACUC represents society's concerns regarding
the welfare of animal subjects used... and is expected to be the
conscience for the institute on animal welfare concerns.
- The IACUC is responsible for reviewing,
monitoring, and making recommendations to the Director on all
matters related to animal care, treatment, and use. The IACUC
is responsible for keeping abreast of changes in animal use legislation
and guidelines and recommending modifications to the institution's
program to ensure that research and the animal use program fully
comply with the letter and spirit of the law.
- In carrying out these responsibilities,
the IACUC is not a scientific review group, per se. All projects
have been determined to be appropriate, mission related, and scientifically
sound by the time they reach the IACUC. However, humane treatment
and scientific methodology are closely related and often inseparable.
Therefore, the science is discussed and reviewed only as it relates
specifically to animal use.
IACUC Duties
and Procedures:
- The duty most identified with the IACUC is protocol review.
The IACUC conducts a thorough and comprehensive review of all
new proposals and amendments to existing protocols.
- All continuing protocols also receive
annual review to ensure that no significant deviations from established
and approved procedures are included. All principal investigators
are required to complete an annual review report as part of this
process.
- When reviewing protocols, the IACUC
must ensure that: all procedures involving animals will avoid
or minimize pain and distress to the animals; the principal investigator
has considered alternatives to procedures that cause more than
momentary pain or distress to the animals; the principal investigator
has provided written assurance that the protocol proposed does
not unnecessarily duplicate previous experiments; appropriate
anesthetics and analgesics are used when necessary; personnel
are properly trained to perform the proposed procedures; activities
that involve surgery provide for appropriate pre-operative and
post-operative care and that aseptic practices are followed; and
that methods of euthanasia are consistent with methods set forth
by the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia.
- The IACUC is required to inspect,
at least once every six months, the research institute's animal
facilities, including animal study areas, which are defined as
any areas in which an animal work is performed. Not only is the
physical facility inspected, such as animal housing and facility
maintenance, but the entire animal program is reviewed. This involves
reviewing animal health records, observing surgery, reviewing
post-operative records, and reviewing the Biosafety, chemical
safety, radiation safety, and occupational health program. At
the AFRIMS, this semiannual function is called the Facility Inspection
and Program Review, or FIPR. The IACUC can use subcommittees composed
of at least two committee members to evaluate different aspects
of the program. The IACUC must make a written report of its findings,
which must be signed by a majority of committee members and submitted
to the Director. The report must include minority views, if expressed.
- The IACUC must review and investigate,
if necessary, any concerns involving the care and use of animals
at the research institute resulting from complaints or reports
of noncompliance. The IACUC has the authority to suspend an activity
that it previously approved if it determines that the activity
is not being conducted in accordance with the description provided
by the investigator in his/her protocol.
- Included in this section is AFRIMS
Policy Letter 01-2, In addition to delineating the IACUC's responsibilities
and procedures for enacting those responsibilities, the Policy
Letter contains information about writing protocols and protocol
amendments, and describes the responsibilities of the Institute
Director, Division Directors, and the Principal Investigator with
respect to laboratory animal welfare and use.
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