The Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) will begin its next round of semi-annual facility inspections on Monday, March 9, 2026.
Inspections will run through Thursday, March 12, 2026, and include any animal rooms, surgical suite support spaces, or areas where procedures are conducted with animals.
Facility Inspection Reminders
- Laboratory visits are generally scheduled in four-hour increments to account for a variety of factors. As such, the Animal Care & Use Office (ACUO) is unable to make scheduling adjustments. Although every effort will be made to adhere to the distributed schedule, unforeseen circumstances may result in schedule deviation(s).
- Please designate at least one individual to serve as a spokesperson for your laboratory. This individual should be able to provide access to locked cabinets, drawers, or storage areas that contain drugs and other medical materials AND have detailed knowledge of the procedures outlined in your laboratory’s IACUC approved animal use protocol(s).
- All laboratories are strongly encouraged to identify AT LEAST TWO additional individualswho can serve as secondary contacts to fill-in in case of any last-minute personnel changes or scheduling conflicts.
- If no Designated Spokesperson has been identified in eRAM, then it is assumed that the PI will serve in this capacity.
- For inspections with a ULAM focus:
- Each inspection will begin in Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) animal housing areas, though this may be altered for biosecurity purposes
- Only ULAM Husbandry Supervisors need to be present
Preparation Resources
Please review the following resources with your laboratory staff – including any students involved with animal-based research – to help prepare for Winter 2026 semi-annual IACUC facility inspections:
- Lessons Learned from Fall 2025 Semi-Annual Facility Inspections (newsletter article)
- Are You Inspection Ready? Checklist (PDF download)
- Aquatics Facilities Checklist (PDF download)
Questions?
Questions or concerns about semi-annual IACUC facility inspections should be directed to the Animal Care & Use Office at [email protected].
Links marked with a lock icon can only be accessed using valid U-M login credentials.