To help mitigate the risk of protocol non-compliance and, more importantly, demonstrate our individual and collective commitment(s) to sustained programmatic excellence, the Animal Care & Use Program has created a new Self-Guided Evaluation of Animal Activities & Protocol Content Form (available via PDF download). 
Developed by the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC), this assessment form contains an easy-to-follow methodology for performing a self-guided evaluation of your protocol content, including the details of all animal activities.
The objectives of this evaluation are to:
- Ensure that animal activities are being conducted in accordance with the IACUC approved protocol;
- Verify that all personnel are knowledgeable of the animal activities as described in the protocol; and
- Reiterate that the conduct of animal activities without prior IACUC approval is non-compliance.
Reminder: If any unapproved procedure(s) are being performed, an amendment must be submitted immediately. The procedure(s) must cease until approval is obtained.
Please contact the Quality Assurance Team in the Animal Care & Use Office (ACUO) for assistance with completing protocol amendments.
To effectively implement this evaluation, the following steps should be completed:
- A meeting with personnel in the laboratory to discuss current animal and laboratory procedures, including any laboratory SOPs, notebooks, or experimental instructions staff are using; and
- A review of all protocol-specific procedures conducted in animals by each lab member (e.g., sampling time points, anesthesia and analgesia agents used, dosages, route of injection, pre- and post- operative procedures, methods of euthanasia, etc.) to ensure congruence with the IACUC approved protocol(s)
Need additional assistance or want to share your feedback?
Please feel free to contact the Quality Assurance Team ([email protected]) with any feedback on this process or suggestions for additional assessment resources that may be helpful.
We are happy to schedule a consultation with you or your lab to discuss the findings of your self-evaluation as well as any other aspects of our Program.
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