Instructional Activities

I want to use animals in a lab course. What do I do? 

Use of animals in teaching requires IACUC approval. The UAF IACUC has a separate Teaching Protocol application form; please use this for all classes, including those that have simple individual or group research projects.  The individual project descriptions (Teaching Student Project form) can either be submitted with the Teaching Protocol or as subsequent amendments if the projects will be designed by the students.  It is our preference that one (1) Teaching Protocol cover the entire course.  Multiple courses may all be listed on a single form if they use common animal labs (for example Biol 103, 104, 105 may all use the same mouse metabolism lab exercise). To avoid confusion, be sure to contact the IACUC Chair or ORI before trying this.

What are the training requirements for students handling live vertebrates as part of a lab course?

Training for students enrolled in a catalog listed course who will be supervised by either a trained instructor or teaching assistant at all times while working with live vertebrates must, at minimum, include a brief overview of the applicable State and Federal regulations and UAF policies and procedures related to the use of live animals.  Instruction may be provided by the course instructor, teaching assistant, ORI staff member, IACUC member, or through reading and discussion of the material provided on the Use of Animals page of the ORI's Research Ethics training program website.  Instructors are encouraged, but not required, to include questions related to this information in a course exam or quiz to emphasize the importance of the material.  The IACUC may determine, on a case-by-case basis, that additional training requirements are warranted given the activities to be performed by the students; any such requirement will be specifically identified in the Modifications Required letter issued by the IACUC to the course instructor.