To provide an overview on how the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Alaska Fairbanks operates and to provide instruction on how to fill out the UAF Assurance of Animal Care form.
In 1985 the UAF Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) was established by the Chancellor and charged with oversight of all animal use at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The primary purpose of this committee is to ensure compliance with national policies protecting the welfare of laboratory and field research animals. These policies, regulations, and guidelines include, but are not limited to: the Animal Welfare Act, Public Health Service Policy, the Health Research Extension Act, Acceptable Field Methods of Mammalogy, Guidelines for the Use of Wild Birds in Research, Guidelines for the Use of Fishes in Field Research, Guidelines for the Use of Live Amphibians and Reptiles in Field Research, and the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Agricultural Research and Teaching. If we fail to ensure that our activities are consistent with these policies and guidelines, the entire extramural research program of the university is at risk.
Our basic policy is set out in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Assurance of Compliance with Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. We are required to renew this document with the Office for Protection from Research Risks, NIH every 5 years and submit annual reports on our activities. All federal and most other granting agencies abide by the requirements set out in Public Health Service Policy. IACUC functions are also explicitly laid out in the Animal Welfare Regulations that are set by the United States Department of Agriculture and in PHS Policy.
An Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee can vary somewhat in its composition depending upon the specific needs and requirements of the institution. The attending veterinarian, a research scientist and a layperson, who is not affiliated in any way to the institution, are the absolute minimum for a functioning committee. At UAF our committee is comprised of the attending veterinarian, a layperson, a scientist from each unit that uses animals, a bioethicist, and a recording secretary.
To accomplish our responsibilities we perform the following major functions:
The UAF Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), in addition to the above-mentioned activities, is intended to be a resource for faculty, staff, and students. Questions about animal use on campus should be directed to the committee. Please report any concern about animal abuse or misuse on the UAF campus, any UAF satellite facility, or during one of our field studies to any IACUC member.
Questions of comments? Please send to the IACUC or John Blake, the UAF Attending Veterinarian.
Protocol review is one of the most important activities of any Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The UAF IACUC reviews all research, teaching and diagnostic protocols that involve the use of live vertebrates (fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, or mammals) irrespective of source of funding (departmental, public, or private) or purpose (biomedical, biological, agricultural, wildlife, testing, education, diagnostics, etc.).
To accomplish this task the IACUC has developed an Assurance of Animal Care form (Assurance) that must be completed by the principle investigator and submitted to the IACUC for review and approval prior to starting the project. Live vertebrates may not be purchased from suppliers or obtained from the wild prior to approval.
The UAF IACUC meets during the first week of every month to review protocols. To get your project into the review process you must complete the electronic form (obtained from the IACUC web site) and submit it to the IACUC (use the mail address fyiacuc@uaf.edu) prior to the 20th of the month. DO NOT SUBMIT A HARD COPY OR IT WILL BE RETURNED! Once received the protocol is reviewed for content by a single member of the committee. If complete it will be distributed to the committee for review at the next meeting. If it is incomplete or if there are obvious questions it will be returned. Minor questions will not hold up the protocol, It can be distributed if the initial reviewer feels that necessary corrections/additions are minor.
IACUC deliberation can have a variety of outcomes:
The Assurance form may seem long but there is a considerable amount of instructional material within the form - BE SURE TO READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS. The UAF IACUC has arrived at the current format after attempts at briefer, more simpler forms. It has been our experience that the current "question and answer" approach with very explicit guidelines has markedly improved the submissions.
The form is divided up into 8 distinct sections:
Once approved your Assurance is a working document for three years and must be readily available to all personnel on the project. You MUST keep the Assurance current with respect to any changes in personnel, procedures, or objectives. You will be asked on an annual basis to review your protocol to ensure that it is current and also to file a brief report on the activities for the prior year. If your project goes beyond 3 years you will need to file a new Assurance of Animal Care form.
Although the Office of Research Integrity manages a training program on behalf of the IACUC, it is the responsibility of the principal investigator to ensure that all project personnel are properly trained and/or qualified.
IACUC.org A comprehensive resource of online information for IACUCs.
NetVet and the Electronic Zoo Plenty of information about animals.
The NetVet has a lengthy page devoted to IACUCs. If you scroll down this page you may find some interesting and useful links.
Last modified on Friday May 30, 2008 11:29 AM by John Blake