Working with Live Vertebrate Animals in Research

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IACUC Terms & Conditions of Approval

IACUC Terms & Conditions of Approval

Please review:

 

The Lead Researcher (or Faculty Sponsor) is ultimately responsible for the proper execution of a study, including both the ethical and humane care and use of animals and the strict adherence by all study team members to IACUC requirements, all federal/ state/ local laws, and UC/UCI regulations and policies governing the use of animals in research, teaching and testing.

As Lead Researcher (or Faculty Sponsor) of an animal use protocol, I understand and agree to the following:

Other Oversight/Approvals

  1. IACUC approval does not, in and of itself, constitute approval to implement the project. I understand that I am responsible for obtaining review and approval from other regulatory committees (Institutional Biosafety Committee, Institutional Review Board, etc.) if applicable. In addition, I will ensure that I and my study team follow the requirements of all other oversight/safety committees (EH&S, radiation safety, etc.).
  2. If applicable to my study, I and my study team members will ensure that controlled substances (as identified by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration) are handled and stored in accordance with UCI EH&S Controlled Substances Program Guidelines.

Personnel

  1. I am responsible for ensuring that all individuals named on the project have read and understand all procedures described in the protocol.
  2. I am responsible for ensuring that all experiments and procedures involving animals are performed under my supervision or that of another qualified professional listed on the protocol.
  3. All personnel having direct live animal contact on the project, including myself, are currently or will be trained in humane and scientifically acceptable procedures for animal handling, administration of therapeutic drugs and euthanasia used in the project. I understand that study team members may not initiate any procedure with live animals prior to completing this training and until they demonstrate proficiency in the procedures they will perform under the protocol.
  4. All study team members with direct animal contact will participate in the UCI Laboratory Animal Occupational Health Program (LAOHP) and be made aware of the potential hazards associated with the use of live animals, animal tissues, and other potential hazards associated with the research.

Animal Welfare/Veterinary Care/Monitoring

  1. I and my study team will promptly report adverse events to campus veterinary staff and the IACUC about any unanticipated pain or distress, morbidity, or mortality of animals that occurs in the study.
  2. Emergency veterinary care by ULAR Veterinary Services will be provided to animals showing evidence of pain or illness not specifically addressed in the approved protocol.
  3. UCI veterinary and husbandry staff, as well as members of the IACUC, will have unlimited access to the animals under the protocol to conduct federally mandated inspections and post-approval monitoring activities and to ensure animal welfare. I understand that the IACUC and veterinarians will attempt to minimize disruptions wherever possible.

Animal Acquisition/Housing

  1. I and my research team are responsible for coordinating all animal acquisition through University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR). All animals must be housed in ULAR facilities unless otherwise approved by the IACUC.
  2. Facility access key cards can only be used by the individual to whom they are issued, and the sharing vivarium key cards is a violation of UCI policy. I will ensure that vivarium key cards will not be shared and personnel who have left the laboratory or are no longer working with live animals will promptly return their key cards to ULAR for deactivation.

Other Conditions

  1. I understand that no procedures, handling, observation or recording of data from research animals may take place without IACUC approval, and that no changes to the protocol may be implemented without prior IACUC review and approval.
  2. If research activities are supported by federal research funds, I understand that I am responsible for ensuring that the live-animal use described in the federal grant proposal is congruent with the approved IACUC protocol.

Acquiring Animals for Research Use

Acquiring Animals for Research Use

Purchasing Animals from Commercial Vendors

In order to protect the health and well-being of all animals used at UCI, University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR) coordinates all animal purchases and transfers for the campus and UCIMC facilities. ULAR also establishes the recharge rates for all animal care services, including per diem rates, transportation and technical services.

All research animal acquisitions, whether from commercial vendors or other institutions, must be coordinated through University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR). Animals cannot be purchased, acquired or transferred to UCI until a protocol for their use has been reviewed and approved by the IACUC.

The University uses only purpose-bred animals for research, which are acquired from USDA-licensed Class A vendors. ULAR maintains a list of approved commercial vendors; these sources provide reliable colony health information and present a low risk of contamination to other research animals on campus. Animals from these vendors may enter campus vivaria directly upon arrival. Animals from all other sources, including other educational and research institutions, are subject to quarantine until their health status can be verified.

Adult animals that are purchased or transferred through ULAR are automatically deducted from the approved allocation - researchers are responsible for ensuring accuracy of protocol numbers when ordering or transferring animals.

Animal Purchasing (ULAR)
Animal Transfers (ULAR)

In-House Breeding Colonies and Pre-Weanling Pups

Research staff are responsible for reporting all animals that are not purchased through routine ULAR purchasing procedures; such animals include:

  • Animals produced in campus breeding colonies
  • Pre-weanling pups purchased as "Dam with Litter"
  • Offspring of animals purchased while pregnant and then born following a full term pregnancy.  Animals harvested as embryos (prior to natural birth) do not need to be counted or reported.
  • Any other animals acquired through sources other than ULAR purchasing (e.g., exotic animals purchased by the Lead Researcher directly from the vendor).

Reporting of Animals Bred In-House

NOTE: The Web Reporting of Animals interface is no longer functional. The Research Management System (RMS) will have the functional capability for on-line reporting of animals soon; in the meantime, researchers should keep their own in-lab records of all animals produced in their breeding colonies. This includes:

  • All animals produced in the colony and used for research - reported in the applicable USDA pain category (C, D or E)
  • All animals produced in the colony and held as breeders - reported in USDA pain category B
  • All animals produced in the colony but not used for any research purpose - reported in USDA category B

Principal Investigators and Research Personnel are responsible for keeping accurate records of all animals born in in-house breeding colonies as part of their laboratory record-keeping process.  Researchers must report all such animals to the IACUC as part of the protocol's Annual Review.

For more information about acquiring and housing animals for use in research at UCI, including how to transfer animals from other institutions, visit the ULAR website.

Rodent Breeding Colonies

Rodent Breeding Colonies

Overview

The intentional breeding of rodents requires IACUC review and approval.  A breeding colony may be necessary to develop an animal model is not commercially available, or produce young animals with specific age or weight that cannot be provided by a commercial breeding colony. Investigators developing a new spontaneous or induced mutant animal model might also need to maintain their own breeding colony because there is no alternative source for the animal model.  Maintenance of a breeding colony must be scientifically justified; cost savings alone is not a valid justification.

The IACUC has developed policies and guidelines for the maintenance of rodent breeding colonies to assist researchers in minimizing overall animal numbers and potential animal overcrowding while ensuring the most effective breeding activities.

Policy

  • Acceptable breeding schemes for mice include:
    • Paired – one male, one female
    • Trio – one male, two females
    • Harem – one male, three or more females
  • No more than three (3) adult mice may be in a single cage with a litter present.
  • When there is more than one adult female mouse in a cage with a litter or litters, there can be no more than a total of 14 pups.
  • When multiple litters are present in a cage, the age difference between the litters may not exceed 5 days.
  • Rat colonies are limited to the Paired breeding scheme only, due to their increased space requirements.
    • In order to minimize single housing, male rats may be kept in the same breeding cage with the female and litter, as long as there are less than 10 pups. If there are more than 10 pups, then the male must be removed when pups are around one week of age.
    • NOTE:  Exceptions to this rule may be considered by the IACUC, e.g., when a particular strain of rat typically produces smaller-than-average litters.
  • Birthdates of all litters must be clearly marked on the cage card; researchers are responsible for providing this information in a clear manner.
  • All litters must be weaned and separated at 21 days of age, unless an exception has been reviewed and approved by the IACUC.
  • Research personnel are responsible for reporting all animals produced in the breeding colony, including animals that are used or held only for breeding and offspring that are euthanized without being used for any research purpose. Animals produced in campus breeding colonies should be reported on the Annual Review.

Adherence to this Policy

The Lead Researcher is responsible for adhering to this policy and must ensure that all research personnel responsible for colony maintenance are appropriately trained and experienced. Birth dates of all litters must be clearly noted on each cage card.

If significant overcrowding is noted by ULAR staff or campus veterinarians or if a litter is more than 21 days old, a dated "Please Wean/Separate" card will be placed on the cage. Research staff must wean and separate the animals within two (2) calendar days of the posting; ULAR husbandry staff will wean/separate the animals on the third day after the posting, and Lead Researcher will be charged for this service.

Rodent Circle

Breeding Notes & Guidelines

Researchers are encouraged to keep additional detailed breeding records separate from the cage cards to prevent accidental loss of important data.
Research personnel must provide sufficient monitoring of the animals to prevent overcrowding and deal with associated issues such as cannibalism, fighting, excessively soiled caging, etc. ULAR staff is authorized to separate animals when their welfare is jeopardized by overcrowding or fighting.

Female rodents experience a post-partum estrus and can become pregnant within 24 hours of delivering a litter. Consequently, leaving a male mouse or rat in the cage until the time of delivery can result in the production of a subsequent litter when the first litter is 21 days old.

Significant overcrowding and unintended breeding activity may result if the weanlings are not separated at 21 days of age.

In some circumstances, the cross-breeding of certain transgenic strains with the intention of creating a new strain may require prior Institutional Biosafety Committee review and approval.  IBC review is required if the following conditions are present:

  1. One of the parental rodents requires housing under BL2 (or higher) containment;
  2. One of the parental transgenic rodents contains one of the following genetic modifications: (a) incorporation of more than one-half of the genome of an exogenous eukaryotic virus from a single family of viruses; or (b) incorporation of a transgene that is under the control of a gammaretroviral long term repeat (LTR); and
  3. The transgenic rodent that results from this breeding is expected to contain more than one-half of an exogenous viral genome from a single family of viruses.

For more information, please contact the Institutional Biosafety Committee

Collecting Tissue for Genetic Analysis

Acceptable methods include:

Tail Tip Excision

Surgical removal of the distal tip of the tail (5 mm or less).  Anesthesia is not required for mice 21 days of age or younger, as innervation of the tip of the tail is minimal in pre-weanling mice.  Veterinarians recommend that rat pups undergo this procedure at a younger age; 4-8 days of age is recommended.

Anesthesia is required:

  • For excision of larger sections, or if repeated excisions of tail are required, thus involving the coccygeal vertebrae;
  • If the procedure is performed on weaned animals

Anesthesia can be provided by use of inhalant agents (e.g., isoflurane), injectable agents (pentobarbital, ketamine/xylazine, etc.) and local agents such as cetyl chloride.  Hemostasis must be achieved when performing tail tip excisions, through use of cautery agents such as silver nitrate or a heated scalpel blade. Use of a topical analgesic is highly recommended following this procedure.

Ear Punch

Removal of a small (0.5 – 1 mm) circular section of tissue from the ear pinna, commonly used as an identification method in rodents.    Multiple samples can be collected from one or both ears. Collection of the small tissue samples produced during ear punching may generate enough tissue (DNA) to allow analysis by PCR.  Anesthesia is not required when performing ear punches on rodents.

Peripheral Blood Collection

Veterinary Services can provide more information and training for this method.

Distal Toe Clipping

As a means of identifying genetically modified rodents and collecting tissue for genetic analysis, distal toe clipping (up to the first knuckle) may be used with scientific justification in the approved animal-use protocol.  This method may only be used on neonatal animals. This collection should be performed before the animals are 10 days old unless they are inordinately small, at which point it can be delayed to 13 days of age. If the eyes are open, appropriate anesthesia must be used. The UCI Transgenic Mouse Facility Standard Operating Procedure for distal toe-clipping in transgenic mice must be followed.

References & Resources

Modifications to Approved Protocols

Modifications to Approved Protocols

Overview

The PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and Animal Welfare Regulations define the responsibilities of the IACUC regarding review and approval of proposed significant changes to animal activities. Changes to approved research projects must be conducted in accordance with the institution’s Assurance, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations, and must be consistent with the Guide unless an acceptable justification for a departure is presented. Additionally, IACUCs are responsible for assuring that the changes to approved animal activities meet the requirements described in the PHS Policy.

Policy

The IACUC has defined a Significant Change as any deviation from the protocol that substantially alters or affects the overall study objectives/rationale, specific approved procedures, or the potential for pain, distress and discomfort in the animals. Since changes to approved animal-use protocols vary in their potential impact on the welfare of the animals, the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) has granted assured institutions some discretion in determining the level of review required for modifications to approved protocols. The IACUC has developed and approved standard guidance and procedures to determine the level of review required for each modification request in order to assure that the highest level of humane animal care is maintained while assuring that researchers are not unduly burdened by administrative requirements.

In general, the addition of a new procedure that increases the invasiveness or the amount of pain or distress an animal experiences requires review by the full committee, either at a convened meeting or via Designated Member Review. Additionally, if the study objective changes significantly, a new protocol may be required. Consultation with a ULAR Veterinarian or the IACUC Administrative Staff is recommended for assistance in determining appropriate levels of review.

Levels of Review

All requests to modify approved protocols are administratively assessed to determine the appropriate level of review:

 

Full Committee Review:

Modification request of significant changes must be submitted for review at a convened meeting of the IACUC with a quorum present. Examples of modifications that require full committee review:

    • Additional Animals in Category E (unrelieved pain/distress)
    • Major Changes in Scope or Experimental Design
    • Invasive Procedures likely to increase pain, distress or discomfort
    • Departures from the Guide

 

Designated Member Review

Modification request of significant changes may be reviewed by a subcommittee consisting of at least two voting members of the IACUC, provided that no member of the IACUC calls for an elevation of the modification request to full committee during a 5-day electronic polling period (review of a written description of the request by all committee members via email).Examples of modifications that may be considered for Designated Review:

    • Additional experiments that fit within the scope/rationale of the originally approved protocol
    • Substantial changes to experimental design
    • Addition of a new species
    • Additional animals - approximately 25% of the originally approved allocation of research animals (categories C and D only; increases in category E require full committee review)
    • Change in Lead Researcher
    • Changes that may have an impact on the safety of research personnel

Note:  A modification submitted for Designated Member Review may be elevated to Full Committee Review at the request of any single voting member of the IACUC.

 

Accelerated Review

Significant Changes that may be handled administratively in consultation with a veterinarian authorized by the IACUC are classified below (these categories are subject to review by the IACUC at least once per year):

    • Changes in therapeutic agents listed in the ULAR Drug Formulary
    • Changes in anesthesia, analgesia, sedation or experimental substances including new drugs of the same class (purpose), change of duration, frequency, route of administration, or dosage as long as the proposed changes are consistent with standard veterinary care.
    • Change in euthanasia method, provided it is approved in the AVMA Guidelines for Euthanasia
    • Changes to approved blood collection procedures in accordance with IACUC Guidelines for Blood Collection in Rodents.
    • Changes between acceptable methods for collection of tissue for genetic analysis as defined in the IACUC policy/guidelines on Rodent Breeding Colonies (tail tip excision, ear punch, peripheral blood collection, distal toe clipping).
    • Minor changes to duration, frequency, type or number of procedures performed on an animal; provided that, in the professional opinion of the veterinarian, the change will not increase the potential for pain, distress or discomfort.

 

Administrative Changes

The following changes are NOT considered "significant" and are subject only to administrative review and processing:

    • Changes in funding source
    • Changes/updates to non-key personnel
    • Changes in lab area locations (where live animals are used or held)
    • Contact information updates
    • Increase in up to 100% of the originally approved allocation for category B animals
    • Increase in animal numbers of not more than 25% of the originally approved allocation in pain categories C and D
    • Reallocation of animal numbers between condition codes (NA, Pregnant, Dams w Litter)
    • Additions of strains for a previously-approved species, including genetically-modified strains

Notes and Guidance

  • Significant Changes (categories A-C above) require submission of the following:
    • Completion of the Modification Tab in RMS
    • Proposed changes incorporated into the protocol
  • Refer to our Modification Submission Guidance page for advice on how to submit modifications.
  • All modifications requests must be submitted by approved personnel who are listed on the protocol.
  • See our Applications & Forms page for all document forms.
  • All modification requests are subject to rigorous pre-review.  The appropriate level of review will be assessed at the time of submission; any request may be forwarded for Full Committee Review for any reason at the discretion of the veterinarians and/or IACUC administrative staff.
  • Requests for additional animals, regardless of strain, must include a brief explanation for why the additional animals are required.
  • The addition of genetically modified animals must include:
    • Justification for the new strain
    • Description of any possible phenotypic abnormalities
    • Creation/generation of genetically modified animals may require Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) oversight.
  • Changes to therapeutic agents may be processed administratively with veterinary consultation provided the proposed agents, dosage ranges, etc. are consistent with the ULAR Drug Formulary.   All proposed changes will be reviewed for potential hazards to research and vivarium/husbandry personnel and may require additional oversight from Environmental Health and Safety and/or the Institutional Biosafety Committee.
  • Changes between methods of euthanasia may be processed administratively with veterinary consultation provided that the new method is consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia.

Record-Keeping and Reporting of Animal Numbers

Record-Keeping and Reporting of Animal Numbers

Researcher Responsibilities:

All researchers understand the importance of accurate and copious records - they are the backbone of your research endeavors and the basis for scientific publications, grant proposals, etc.  In addition to laboratory notebooks and other data-based research records, researchers that use live animals should also maintain records of:

  • Training for all personnel who work with live animals.
  • Surgical and post-operative monitoring records.
  • Post-procedural monitoring records (e.g., water/food restriction logs)
  • Number of animals used for research purposes
    • These are animals that undergo experimental procedures and/or manipulations (e.g., behavior tests, drug administration, euthanasia for tissue collection, etc.)
    • Records should include how the animals were used and the relevant USDA pain category (C, D, or E)
    • Includes exotic species not purchased through ULAR, wild-caught animals, etc.
  • Total number of animals produced in breeding colonies but not used in experiments.  These animals are all USDA pain category B and the total number includes:
    • Animals held as replacement breeders
    • Animals that are euthanized immediately prior to weaning (e.g. culled littermates)
    • NOTE:  Animals produced in the breeding colonies that are used in experiments are to be counted as "used for research purposes" in the relevant USDA pain category.

Guidance for Reporting Animal Numbers:

The following animal numbers are recorded in RMS, and deducted from a protocol's approved allocation.

  • Animals purchased through ULAR
  • Animals transferred by ULAR (e.g. from other institutions, or between protocols at UCI)

The number of animals produced in campus breeding colonies or obtained by other methods (e.g. wild-caught, obtained from non-traditional sources) are not recorded in RMS and must be recorded by the researcher and reported to the IACUC at least once per year.

  • While the IACUC does not require any specific method or software for maintaining breeding colony records, accurate records are absolutely required for both scientific and animal-welfare reasons.  See IACUC Policy on Rodent Breeding Colonies.
  • To avoid double-counting animals, you should omit the number of breeder animals currently in the breeding colony if they were already reported during a previous protocol reporting period.  See guidance for how to look up previously-submitted Annual Reviews in RMS.

Reporting Animal Numbers via the Annual Review:

At the end of each protocol year, Principal Investigators or their designees must submit a progress report (Annual Review) for the reporting period.  Reporting periods begin with the protocol approval date:

  1. End of Year 1 = IACUC approval date + 365 days = Annual Report due
  2. End of Year 2 = IACUC approval date + 730 days = Annual Report due
  3. End of 3-year protocol period = IACUC approval date + 1095 days = Submit rewritten protocol for full committee review.
Finding the Number of Animals Used

Each Annual Review submission should include the number of animals used in research during the last protocol year, including:

  • Number of animals purchased or transferred through ULAR and used for either research purposes or as breeding animals.  NOTE:  Report all animals in the appropriate USDA Pain Category B, C, D or E -- the highest pain category according to how they were usedaccording to how they were used
  • Number of offspring produced in the colony and used for research purposes (these animals should be reported in the appropriate USDA Pain Category C, D, or E)
  • Number of offspring produced in the colony and maintained as replacement breeders (Category B)
  • Number of offspring produced in the colony but not used for any purpose, such as culled littermates (also Category B)

As part of the administrative processing of Annual Review information, IACUC staff will compare the number of animals reported by the lab to the total number of animals counted against the approved allocation in RMS and update the RMS totals as necessary.

Log Templates

Research Personnel Training Record Log

Food/Water Restriction Daily Log

Surgery Anesthetic Log

Post-Op Monitoring Log - Individual

Post-Op Monitoring Log - Group

Record Keeping

Renewal Requirements and Record Retention

Renewal Requirements and Record Retention

Background

The Public Health Service Policy requires that the IACUC conduct a complete review of all previously-approved ongoing activities at least once every three years. The institution also conducts continuing reviews of activities involving live animals annually.

UCI’s IACUC complies with these requirements by:

  • Two annual reviews reviewed by the IACUC (either administratively or by full committee depending if adverse events are reported) on the first and second anniversary of the original approval, and
  • Complete resubmission of the protocol for full committee review every three years.

Reporting Animal Numbers

A common element of both the Annual Review and Three-Year Renewal is the reporting of animal numbers.  While all animals purchased through routine ULAR purchasing procedures are automatically deducted from a protocol's approved allocation, researchers are required to self-report all other animals, such as:

  • Animals produced in UCI breeding colonies
  • Offspring of animals purchased as pregnant dams or dams-with-litter
  • Exotic animals (e.g., reptiles caught in the wild or procured from non-traditional sources)

Ideally, researchers should be maintaining internal lab records that keep track of the above types of animal numbers that require self-reporting.

Animal usage numbers are required by both annual review and three-year renewal.  If the number of animals reported at either of these submissions does not agree with the number of animals shown as "used" in the animal use database, the numbers in the database will be adjusted accordingly.

*COMING SOON:  A new way to report animals online via RMS will be available in the future. In the meantime, the IACUC recommends that labs keep track of your animal numbers internally.

Annual Review

Annual reviews must be submitted by the IACUC before the first and second anniversary of the original IACUC-approved protocol. The Annual Review serves as an progress report, and provides the researcher with an opportunity to update animal usage and report adverse events and refinements to the original experimental design. The Lead Researcher and lab staff listed in the "Senior Researcher" and "Research Personnel" categories of the Personnel Tab in RMS will receive an auto-generated reminder memo via email approximately 60 days  and then 30 days prior to the anniversary date.
The review must be received by the IACUC Administrative Office at least two weeks prior to the anniversary date to allow sufficient time for administrative review or discussion by the IACUC.

  • Annual reviews of protocols where adverse events are reported are discussed at the IACUC full committee meetings. All other annual reviews  are processed administratively.
  • Annual reviews must be completed online via the Research Management System (RMS) - See online guidance for Annual Review Submissions and completing the Annual Review Tab in RMS
  • Failure to submit Annual Review may result in closure of your protocol.  Any remaining animals under a closed protocol will be placed on the ULAR Holding Protocol and are off limits to investigators and research personnel.  No experimental use or observation of animals may take place during a protocol lapse period – failure to act in accordance with this restriction will be handled as regulatory noncompliance.

Three-Year Renewal

All animal use protocols must be submitted for full committee review at a convened meeting of the IACUC every three years.

This review is sometimes called a de novo review because the protocol receives the same scrutiny by the committee as if it were a brand-new submission. Lead Researchers should not assume that their three-year renewal protocol will automatically receive approval, even if the submission is exactly the same as that of the previously approved cycle; many factors may have changed since the last full committee review, including federal animal welfare regulations, societal expectations, and the composition of the committee.

Alll Three-Year Renewal submissions require full committee review at a convened meeting of the IACUC, and must be submitted by published deadlines - see our online Committee Calendar for submission deadlines and meeting dates. Researchers are responsible for determining the best meeting date for review of their protocol to avoid delays that could lead to a lapse in approval.

  • Lead Researchers and lab staff listed in the "Senior Researcher" and "Research Personnel" categories of the Personnel Tab in RMS will receive an auto-generated three-year reminder memo via email approximately 90 days prior to the anniversary date, with a follow up reminder 60 days before the protocol is due to expire.
  • Researchers should keep in mind that the IACUC meets only once per month; three-year renewal submissions should be submitted for review at the meeting that occurs in the month prior to the original protocol expiration (e.g., protocols expiring in June should be submitted for review at the May IACUC meeting).

A protocol will expire on its expiration date if a three-year renewal application has not been reviewed and approved by the IACUC. During the lapse in approval, animals are placed on the ULAR holding protocol and are off limits to investigators and research personnel. No experimental use or observation of animals may take place during a protocol lapse period – failure to act in accordance with this restriction will be handled as regulatory noncompliance. Per federal regulations and UCI’s Animal Welfare Assurance, there are no exceptions and no extensions of approval granted by the IACUC.

Important Reminders about 3-year renewals:

Official Retention of IACUC Records:

Federal regulations and University of California policy require the IACUC office to keep records of live animal use for three years after the completion of the research or training activity.  The University has defined "activity" as the 3-year protocol approval period (commonly referred to as the "cycle").  Therefore, when an IACUC protocol expires at the end of the three-year protocol approval period (e.g. when it is replaced by a renewal protocol), or if it is closed at any time by the Lead Researcher or IACUC, the record is maintained for an additional three years beginning with the date of closure/expiration.   At the end of the three-year retention period, the record is destroyed.

NOTE:  Journals may request proof of past IACUC approval - researchers should keep their own internal copies of IACUC-approved protocol documents associated with potential publications, as the IACUC Administrative Office may not be able to provide copies of archived documents.

Formal Requests for Records:  If someone you don't know or a member of the general public requests a copy of your research protocol or other records pertaining to the use of live animals, please refer the requestor to either the IACUC Administrative Office or the UCI Public Records Office.  Most of these materials are subject to the California Public Records Act and must be released; however, they will be carefully redacted by the Public Records Office prior to release to protect personal and proprietary information.