IACUC Ongoing Training
Dr. W. Idlcat has a new postdoctoral scholar that will be conducting animal studies. When reading the protocol, the post doc realizes that there are several procedures in the protocol that they are interested in doing for their research interests, but the procedures are not in the post doc’s desired experimental design and are located in different experimental groups with sequence and timings that does not meet the post doc’s needs. How should the post doc proceed?
A. The post doc should discuss their research goals with their PI and create an experimental design that works for their research goals. The PI and post doc must submit an amendment if none of the existing approved experimental groups meet their needs.
B. The post doc can do what they want, regardless of what is approved in the protocol.
C. The post doc can complete the procedures approved on the protocol even if they are not within the same experimental group and the sequence and timing does not match. These items can be modified later.
Dr. W. Idlcat has a new postdoctoral scholar that will be conducting animal studies. When reading the protocol, the post doc realizes that there are several procedures in the protocol that they are interested in doing for their research interests, but the procedures are not in the post doc’s desired experimental design and are located in different experimental groups with sequence and timings that does not meet the post doc’s needs. How should the post doc proceed?
A. The post doc should discuss their research goals with their PI and create an experimental design that works for their research goals. The PI and post doc must submit an amendment if none of the existing approved experimental groups meet their needs.
B. The post doc can do what they want, regardless of what is approved in the protocol.
C. The post doc can complete the procedures approved on the protocol even if they are not within the same experimental group and the sequence and timing does not match. These items can be modified later.
Learner Feedback: The correct answer is A. When a PI writes a protocol and submits it for IACUC review and approval, the IACUC is reviewing the protocol as written. There may be many procedures in different experimental groups, but each experimental group has a specific sequence and timing on how those procedures are applied. Combining procedures from different groups and disregarding the sequence and timing is not appropriate as the IACUC has not evaluated those combinations of procedures, which can affect the pain and distress the animals experience and is why B and C are incorrect. This concept also applies to procedural details and substances such as extending the length of time for a behavioral study or changing the route of administration. If the laboratory needs to make changes to any aspect of the protocol, they must submit an amendment and confirm approval prior to implementation of the changes. Consider consulting with CCM Veterinarians and IACUC Staff on protocol changes. Please see our Amendment Review for more information on amendment options and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to the IACUC Office. For additional information on IACUC’s role in protocol review, please see OLAW’s Protocol Review FAQ. FAQD8 and FAQD12 are particularly relevant.