Approval of Animal Use Protocol
The Office of Research Compliance and Biosafety, Animal Welfare Assurance Program staff receives all new AUPs and assigns an AUP number. The investigator is notified of the receipt of the protocol and the assigned protocol’s number. All future correspondence between the IACUC and the investigator should reference the assigned AUP number.
As required by law, the protocol is distributed to the committee for their consideration. The committee is given a designated time period to consider the protocol. The designated reviewer (DR) will consider all of the comments or concerns raised by the committee. If further clarification is required, the DR will prepare a pending approval memo to the investigator requesting a response and revision to the protocol. The investigator has 30 days to respond with a revised protocol. If the revised protocol satisfactorily addresses the concerns iterated in the pending approval memo, the chair has the authority to approve the protocol.
At any time during the review period, a committee member may call for full committee review (FCR) of the AUP. This occurs when there are serious concerns. The DR will assign a primary and secondary reviewer whose responsibility is to conduct a thorough review of the protocol, grant and all committee comments. The investigator may be contacted and interviewed by at least one of the reviewers. The protocol will be brought before the next fully convened meeting of the IACUC for discussion and consideration. There is no requirement for the investigator to attend the meeting. If further clarification is deemed necessary by the committee, a pending approval memo will be generated and forwarded to the investigator, requesting revisions to be made and resubmitted within 30 days of receipt of the memo.
Once approved, the animal program staff will prepare an approval letter and forward a copy of the approved animal use protocol to the investigator electronically and via campus mail. A copy of the approved AUP will be sent to the funding agency, routing agency, housing facility, and the attending veterinarian.
An AUP is approved for a three year period. To submit an AUP for IACUC review, log in to the iRIS system. For instructions on how to log in to iRIS, visit our informational portal.