Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee

There are many resources available to support you as you embark on research. The Center for Teaching & Learning offers workshops on research and offers support to researchers at all phases of the research and writing process. Please contact CTL@jwu.edu for more information.

You must fill out an Animal Use application, located above. A complete Animal Use application includes submission of certificates showing completion of CITI training, etc. Email IACUC@jwu.edu with any questions.

See schedule above. Generally, the IACUC meets every semester on the Friday of week 7. The deadline for proposal submission is two weeks prior to the meeting date.

You must have a protocol approved by the JWU IACUC before you may obtain live, vertebrate animals or conduct any project involving research, teaching, or testing using live, vertebrate animals. The use of such animals in research, teaching and testing is a privilege, not a right, and it may be withheld or revoked by the IACUC.

The person who assumes complete responsibility for a research project is considered the PI. The PI is responsible for submitting a complete Animal Use Application to the IACUC, supervising any and all co-principal investigators (Co-PIs) and/or research associates (e.g. research/teaching assistants and students), and managing external partnerships (subrecipients or contractors) engaged in the procedures and methods described in the Animal Use Application. Only full-time JWU faculty/staff may be listed as PI on an IACUC protocol. The IACUC only allows for a single person to be listed as PI, regardless of the number of Co-PIs and/or associates involved in the administration and execution of an approved Animal Use Application.

Co-PIs, or co-principal investigators, are individuals who play a significant, leading role in designing, implementing and/or evaluating the proposed research, teaching or testing activities. This could be other full-time faculty/staff, students, part-time faculty/staff, or external partners.

All faculty, staff, students, visiting scholars, consultants, or partners engaged in research, teaching or testing using live, vertebrate animals must be listed on a protocol. New personnel must be added to a protocol prior to their use of laboratory animals. All personnel must have the required training: CITI “Working with the IACUC” course, applicable species-specific modules, and hands-on training.

Yes.

The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) provides “high-quality, peer-reviewed, web-based educational courses in research, ethics, regulatory oversight, responsible conduct of research, research administration and other topics.” JWU requires principal investigators (PIs), co-principal investigators (co-PIs), and all others involved in research to complete CITI Program training so that they are prepared to conduct their activities according to the highest ethical standards and promote a culture of trust and accountability. Email IACUC@jwu.edu for more information.

The PI listed on the protocol must submit an amended Animal Use Application. New personnel on an animal study must complete all of the required training (i.e., online CITI modules, species-specific training) and be added to a protocol and approved before beginning any live animal work.

No.

All warm and cold-blooded vertebrates (e.g., amphibians, fish, birds, rodents), both in the field and in the laboratory, require IACUC protocol review.

No. You only need to complete the protocol form if you are working with vertebrate animals. The Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals defines an animal as “any live, vertebrate animal used or intended for use in research, research training, experimentation or biological testing, or for related purposes.” The Animal Welfare Act Regulations (AWAR) define an animal as “any live or dead dog, cat, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit or any other warm-blooded animal, which is being used or is intended for use for research, teaching, testing, experimentation or exhibition purposes, or as a pet. This term excludes birds, and rats and mice bred for use in research.”

If a live animal was not purchased by the investigator to obtain animal tissue, a protocol is not necessary. For example, if tissue is obtained from an abattoir or from another investigator who is providing tissue on an animal that has been obtained and euthanized for his approved research project, then a protocol does not have to be submitted.

For help in preparing an Animal Use Application form, general assistance on policy/procedures, or for advice about the laws, regulations and policies that may affect your proposed use of animals, contact Associate Dean Jacquelyn Bowser, the IACUC Attending Veterinarian at 401-598-1057, or email IACUC@JWU.edu.

The IACUC will consider the three “Rs” when reviewing protocols:
○ Refinements to research
○ Reduction of animal numbers
○ Replacement with non-animal models

The federal mandate stated in U.S. Government Principle IV is to avoid or minimize discomfort, distress, and pain in experimental animals consistent with sound scientific practices, is synonymous with a requirement to implement refinements (e.g., less invasive procedures or use of analgesia). Similarly, the mandate in U.S. Government Principle III to use the minimum number of animals necessary to obtain valid results is synonymous with a requirement to reduce animal numbers. U.S. Government Principle III further states that mathematical models, computer simulation, and in vitro biological systems should be considered, and is synonymous with a requirement to replace non-animal models wherever possible. Thus, consideration of the three “Rs” should be incorporated into the animal use protocol, as well as other aspects of animal use (e.g., investigator training).

In addition to involving the IACUC and submitting an Animal Use Application, PIs are required to contact Sponsored Program Administration at JWUSPA@jwu.edu or 401-598-2146.

PHS Policy and the NIH Grants Policy Statement (Part II, Terms and Conditions) require the institution to verify, before award, that the IACUC has reviewed and approved those components of grant applications and contract proposals related to the care and use of animals. This is not an explicit requirement for the IACUC to do a side-by-side comparison of an application/proposal and the IACUC protocol. However, institutions are responsible for ensuring that the information the IACUC reviews and approves is congruent with what is in the application/proposal.

The IACUC is expected to include consideration of the U.S. Government Principles in its review of protocols. Principle II calls for an evaluation of the relevance of a procedure to human or animal health, the advancement of knowledge, or the good of society. Other PHS Policy review criteria refer to sound research design, rationale for involving animals, and scientifically valuable research. Presumably a study that could not meet these basic criteria is inherently unnecessary and wasteful and, therefore, not justifiable. It is not entirely possibly to separate scientific value from animal welfare – some overlap is inevitable. The IACUC may question the scientific rationale or necessity for a procedure.

Three years. You should write the animal use application to include all work and all animals requested for three years. You will be required to rewrite and resubmit the protocol application every third year.

The answer depends on the requirements of the grant and its sponsor. In some cases, full or pending IACUC approval will be required prior to proposal submission. In other cases, sponsors will accept a proposal and notify the applicant that they should seek IACUC review and approval because funding is likely. This is called the “just-in-time” approach. For assistance with grant-funded work, contact JWU’s Director of Sponsored Program Administration by emailing JWUSPA@jwu.edu.

If anything in the approved Animal Use Application changes — the number or type of animals, a new co-PI, the departure of a co-PI, the number of activities performed, etc. — an updated Animal Use Application form must be submitted, with the “Modified” box checked in part four of the form.

If the research or teaching activities off campus are being conducted with the intent to disseminate it, then yes, an Animal Use Application must be submitted to the IACUC.

If research or teaching takes longer than indicated in the approved Animal Use Application, the form must be resubmitted with the “Renewal of Protocol” box checked in part 4 of the form. This must be completed prior to the expiration of the first approved Animal Use Application. Still have questions? Email IACUC@jwu.edu.