The following is a list of all policies approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to ensure that they and their staff are compliant with these policies. For more information, please contact the IACUC Administrator.

PLEASE NOTE:  IACUC policies may be supplemented by Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) from the Center of Comparative Medicine.  Please review these SOPs.

Renewal training consists of a yearly training on a PowerPoint presentation which will discuss issues significant to UConn Health during the past year.  The IACUC office will notify all animal users that they must complete this new training and give a deadline by which the training must be completed.

CITI training may still be used at the discretion of the UConn Health IACUC and the IACUC office; however, acceptance of CITI training for the annual renewal training requirement will only occur if the course(s) were assigned by the IACUC office.

To start your 2024 renewal training, please click on the link to the training in Media Site.  You will need to send an email to the IACUC office (ooacc@uchc.edu) when you complete the training.

2024 Renewal Animal User Training

All new animal users must attend the core training class.  UConn Health’s IACUC does not recognize viewing videotapes or CITI trainings as adequate training for initial training. All new animal users must complete initial training.  There are no exceptions to this requirement.

Registration for training classes is mandatory. People who are not registered for a class will not be allowed to participate in the training class.  Registration forms require an e-signature for assurances – ONLY THE INDIVIDUAL REGISTERING FOR THE CLASS CAN SUBMIT HIS/HER OWN REGISTRATION FORM.

To sign up for a Training Event for working with animals at UConn Health only, please complete the online IACUC training registration form.  Please do not use nicknames on this registration form. Please understand that your registration is being send to a mailbox that has to be manually processed – patience would be helpful as there is only one individual processing training requests.  Requests will not be reviewed outside of the normal workday (9-5 during the week only) – so it might take a couple of days for the registration to be processed.  Submitting multiple forms will not increase the speed in which registrations are processed.

You are not registered for a class if you do not receive a confirmation email.  These emails can only go to your “uchc.edu” email address; if you have multiple emails (e.g., a “jax.org” or “uconn.edu”), please check your “uchc.edu” email for the confirmation.

CLASS SIZE IS GENERALLY LIMITED TO 20 INDIVIDUALS.
CLASSES ON 8/2/24, 10/23/24, AND 12/18/24 – CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED TO 10 INDIVIDUALS.  

There may be a waiting list for a particular class; if you have registered for training and cannot make the class, please be courteous and inform the IACUC office as soon as possible so an attendance spot will not be wasted.

If you have questions, please contact the IACUC Office at ooacc@uchc.edu. 

Training Event Schedule

Please note: If you do not arrive on time, you will have to re-schedule your training. View the campus map >

The Top Ten Actions for New Animal Users

As new animal users, you have a responsibility to ensure that you use laboratory animals in an appropriate and ethical manner. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) office is available to all animal users who have questions regarding the proper use of laboratory animals and regulations that affect the use of laboratory animals. The IACUC wants to ensure that all animal users get the information they need.

In order to use laboratory animals here at the Health Center, all vertebrate animal users must do the following:

1. Enroll in animal training. If an individual will be using live, vertebrate animals they MUST have animal user training. This is both federal law (Animal Welfare Act, HREA of 1985, PHS Policy) and institutional policy.

2. Enroll in the Occupational Health Surveillance program (OHS). Please take the time to read the occupational health website- it provides a wealth of information from how to enroll in the program to potential risks associated with common laboratory animal species. This is both federal law (PHS Policy) and institutional policy.

3. Have a medical clearance from EHS for laboratory animal use.  New animal users must have a medical clearance from Employee Health Service (EHS).  It is your responsibility to contact EHS (x2893) and request an appointment for a medical clearance for animal users.  This is NOT the same thing as a pre-employment physical nor is it the same as enrolling in the Occupational Health Surveillance program.

3. Familiarize yourself with the approved policies of the UConn Health Center IACUC. Everyone who works with animals is expected to comply with all IACUC policies. Failure to do so may lead to the revocation of your ability to use laboratory animals.

4. Familiarize yourself with the federal regulations that govern the use of vertebrate animals. All animal users, especially Principal Investigators, should be cognizant of these regulations. Ignorance of the laws governing animal use is not an excuse to not follow these laws and policies. Violation of federal laws governing the use of live vertebrate animals is reportable to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, National Institutes of Health, and the United States Department of Agriculture, and your funding agency. It is in a Principal Investigator’s best interest not to allow this to happen.

5. Write and submit animal care and use applications prior to using animals. Federal laws are clear: all research involving the use of live vertebrate animals must be approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee prior to using the animals. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to submit an application to the IACUC. Failure to do so is a serious violation of federal law and is reportable to the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, National Institutes of Health, and the United States Department of Agriculture, and your funding agency. It is in a Principal Investigator’s best interest not to allow this to happen.  All protocols, modifications, and annual reviews are submitted through the use of the InfoEd eRA Animal Use / IACUC module; the URL to InfoEd for UConn Health is https://uchealth.infoed.uconn.edu.

6. Read the section on the ethics of animal use. Using animals in an ethical and responsible manner is expected at the Health Center. The issues of animals and ethics and the use of animals in biomedical research are ones that are important for all researchers and personnel who use animals to take some time to think about. It is not the intent of the IACUC to tell you how you should feel about these topics; however, it is important that information be available to the research and animal care community so that each individual can explore these topics.

7. Notify the IACUC of any unexpected study result(s) that impact the animals; including any unanticipated pain and/or distress, morbidity, and mortality. It is the Principal Investigator’s responsibility to do this within 72 hours of discovery.

8. Inform the IACUC of any animal users that will be using live, vertebrate animals. The IACUC needs to confirm that the individuals have adequate training and are enrolled in the occupational health surveillance program. Individuals must also be added to the protocol(s) they will be working on by submitting a modification to the IACUC for that protocol(s). It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to ensure that this is accomplished.

10. Read the IACUC Training Handbook. This document, located on the web, will give you supplemental information to what was presented in the initial animal users training. We are required by federal law to provide this information.

Please remember: The IACUC office is here if you have any questions. Please contact our office if you have any questions regarding the use of live, vertebrate animals here at the Health Center.

Ethical Scenario #1 – What do You Do?

Scenario Setup

You are a first year post-doc working in Dr. Eric McGarrity’s laboratory who is doing some ground-breaking work in immunology. You felt honored to get a position in the laboratory- it was very competitive. The research protocol you are working with involves cats and innovative work.

The Situation

It is early on a Saturday (8 a.m.) when you come in to do your work. Dr. McGarrity walks into the laboratory and says that the cats have to have timed blood draws (10 ml each) at 2 and 4 p.m. and make to sure this happens because all the work for the past 6 months “will be worthless” if it doesn’t happen. You start getting everything ready to perform the blood work on the cats.

The Problem

You are reviewing the protocol and realize that the protocol doesn’t have approval to draw the blood from the cats. You find Dr. McGarrity in his office and explain this and he states that this isn’t a problem; because he has this approval on other protocols, it is a minor oversight at worst. He tells you to just do the blood draws.

What do you do?

As a twist…

You are the attending veterinarian and happen to be in the facility because of another issue and hear your vet techs discussing the blood draws (they found it out somehow). You go up and talk with Dr. McGarrity about this issue. As you review all of his current, IACUC-approved protocols, it is clear that he does not have approval to perform 2 10-ml timed blood draws on cats.

What do you do?

As a twist…

You are the chair of the IACUC and the PI called you to inform you that he needed to take the timed blood samples in order to not waste these animals and 6 months worth of work and “just realized” that he does not have approval to perform this procedure on his cats.

What do you do?

Ethical Scenario #2 – Reduction vs. Refinement

Scenario Setup

The regulations state that you must use the 3Rs of Research: Reduction, Refinement and Replacement. What if reduction and refinement are at odds with each other? For example, say you are working with non-human primates. These are highly intelligent creatures, so you feel the need to use the least amount of animals possible in your research project. However, what you are doing to the animals may cause pain and distress. You have two choices: reduce the animal numbers and cause more pain to fewer animals or increase the animal numbers and cause less pain to more animals.

What do you do?

Specism is the act of placing higher moral or ethical value on one species over others. It is done in the laboratory animal field all the time. In fact, it is a requirement to view animal work in this way. Federal law requires that researchers consider the concept of refinement when using laboratory animals: one aspect of refinement is using animals lower on the phylogenetic scale (e.g., using mice instead of rabbits, rabbits instead of cats, cats instead of non-human primates).

How would we define the issue of animals and ethics and the use of animals- whether in biomedical use, exhibition, or as pets? Does common sense play a role in this? Is it a philosophical issue or a moral debate? Is it a personal choice or a societal dilemma? These questions are not easily answered- we can only say that it is a deeply divided issue and a long-standing subject for debate.

Using animals in research requires that some conditions be met. The procedures involving animals must be designed and performed with due consideration of their relevance to human or animal health, the advancement of knowledge, or the good of society. The animals selected for a procedure should be of an appropriate species and quality and the minimum number required to obtain valid results. And the proper use of animals, including the avoidance or minimization of discomfort, distress, and pain when consistent with sound scientific practices, is imperative. The view that we, as human beings, have the right to make these decisions, is based on various philosophical arguments.

Scientific Justification

For research based on an animal model, the validity of the science is the model. It is dependent upon the extent that the experimental findings in the animal model can be generalized to other species, in particular, human beings.

Ethical Justification

Ethical justification of animal research is, in some ways, more difficult than the scientific justification as an individual’s personal beliefs can affect the way they may view the research. It can converge with the scientific justification and can, in some ways, depend on it. It boils down to the following: is the ethical cost of the research (the pain of the animals, the ultimate death of the animals) either balanced or outweighed by the potential value of the research to human or animal health, the advancement of knowledge, or the good of society?

In 2012, the Office of Clinical and Translational Research (OCTR) instituted the OCTR policy that requires budget initiation meetings for all clinical trials before or at the time that the trial opens for accrual.

For all studies which required a Budget Workbook, a budget initiation meeting is scheduled when final IRB approval is issued. The meeting should occur prior to the enrollment of the first study participant, but may occur due to scheduling conflicts within two weeks of the opening of the study.

It is strongly recommended that the study coordinator, department administrator and/or billing coordinator, and the PI attend the budget initiation meeting. The purpose of the meeting is as follows:

• To review the Medicare Coverage Analysis prepared by OCTR personnel
• To review and confirm accuracy of procedure codes and time and effort (T&E) allocations in the Budget Workbook
• To amend the workbook with any new charges or changes to charges in the original Budget Workbook
• To review process for opening and maintaining Banner account
• To review payment procedures and research rates to be paid for UMG and JDH protocol induced charges
• To review the sponsor’s budget, if applicable, and clarify what may be charged to insurance and what is being paid by research
• To identify charges to be invoiced to a research sponsor
• To review coding procedures for RC and PIC medical services

The IACUC Connection is designed to help researchers who work with laboratory animals at UConn Health.

Update:  The IACUC Connection will no longer be published but these editions will continue to be archived for you.