The Animal Care & Use Office (ACUO) is pleased to announce the launch of a new form designed to help simplify the process by which Principal Investigators (PIs) may request an exemption from standard Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) protocol review of certain animal use activities.
Activities** for which IACUC review and approval MAY not be required include – but are NOT limited to – the use of:
- Invertebrate animals other than cephalopods.
- Embryos (e.g., unhatched reptile and/or amphibian eggs, bird eggs prior to the start of hatching, larval fish less than 7 days post-fertilization).
- Animal tissues or organs collected from animals euthanized under an existing IACUC approved protocol.
PIs who believe that their project may be exempt from standard IACUC review processes based on the criteria above should complete the new IACUC Review Waiver Request Form in lieu of sending an email to the ACUO.
For a more detailed list of the types of animal use activities that may be considered exempt, please visit the Protocol Review Waiver webpage (previously titled “Excused Projects”) on the Animal Care & Use Program website.
The ACUO, acting on behalf of the IACUC, will review all waiver requests to determine applicability. Determinations will be made within approximately two weeks of form submission.
Please note: No project activities may begin UNTIL a formal determination letter has been received from the ACUO. A separate waiver request form must also be submitted for EACH individual project proposed by the PI/Study Team.
**Some scientific journal editors may require an exemption letter prior to publishing studies that did not undergo a standard IACUC review. PIs who plan to publish data obtained from an exempt project should also complete the IACUC Review Waiver Request Form to obtain a formal exemption letter from the institution to support any potential publication(s).
Questions?
If you have additional questions about requesting a protocol review waiver or are unsure about whether your project is subject to standard IACUC review processes, please contact the Animal Care & Use Office at [email protected] or (734) 763-8028.
Photo credit: “The fruit fly—Drosophila melanogaster” by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.