The UConn Health IACUC is committed to the humane care and use of laboratory animals. The IACUC has oversight of all animal-related activities performed at UConn Health. It is the responsibility of the IACUC to ensure that all work performed with research laboratory animals used at UConn Health complies with all applicable federal, state, and institutional laws, policies, and guidelines.
UConn Health is fully accredited by AAALAC-i and has been since June 21, 1977. Our last full accreditation was given on July 12, 2019. Though AAALAC-i accreditation is generally good for 3 years, ours has been extended an additional year by AAALAC-i. Our next anticipated evaluation should be in Winter, 2023.
Our Public Health Service (PHS) assurance number is A3471-01 (D16-00295) and the effective dates are May 25, 2022 to April 30, 2026. Our updated Assurance is being reviewed by OLAW; they are backed up. OLAW has assured us that our current Assurance will remain valid even if the expiration date is past.
Our USDA Registration Number is 16-R-0025.
If you have questions, please contact the IACUC office.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
InfoEd
For information on the InfoEd implementation for animal care and use, please go to the Protocol Page of this website. For helpful “cheat sheets“, please go to the OVPR IT help page.
Animal Protocol Annual Reviews are No Longer Required as of January 1, 2022
Federal regulations regarding animal protocols are frequently changing; the latest change being effective by the USDA on December 27, 2021 which no longer requires annual reviews. Therefore, the IACUC is pleased to report that we will no longer require annual reviews for any animal care and use protocol effective January 2, 2022.
New Laboratory Animal Users
If you are new to using laboratory animals, please review our “Top Ten Actions for New Animal Users” page. This will tell you in detail what you need to know and do in order to use laboratory animals here at UConn Health.
Accessing the Animal Facility
In order to access the animal facility, you need to contact the Center for Comparative Medicine (x2731) and ask them for a facility access request form. The IACUC office does not grant facility access. Before you can actually access the animal facility, the following actions must be completed:
- You must be listed as an animal user on an active animal care and use protocol.
- You must complete initial animal user training.
- You must enroll in the Occupational Health Surveillance Program; this is a form that you complete on line.
- You must have a “medical clearance for animal use” appointment with a physician or nurse in Employee Health Service.
EuthanEx System
The IACUC is requiring that all euthanasia stations be equipped with the Euthanex® system. Please review the letter from the IACUC Chair regarding this issue. For more information, contact Dr. Chidambaram, Attending Veterinarian.