REVIEW PROCEDURES 
INITIAL REVIEW OF ANIMAL RESEARCH

Faculty, staff and students wishing to use animal subjects must first obtain approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The first step in the process is to submit a Protocol Application for Use of Vertebrate Animals (See IACUC Forms) to the IACUC through the Office of Research Administration. Please email your Protocol Application to regulatoryservices@uta.edu or iacuc@uta.edu.

Please NOTE that there is a separate IACUC Breeding Protocol Application Form (See IACUC Forms).

The second step is to complete the online animal care training and complete immunization requirements.

Once Regulatory Services receives the protocol, it will undergo pre-review by the IACUC Coordinator. The PI will be notified of revisions that need to be made for clarity and completeness, as well as any other issues that need to addressed before the IACUC reviews the protocol.

Protocols are most frequently reviewed via the Designated Member Review (DMR) process, but occasionally are reviewed via the Full Committee Review (FCR) process. For a full description of both types of review, please see the UTA IACUC Protocol Review SOP.

When reviewing an animal protocol, the IACUC considers the rationale and purpose of the proposed use of animals; justification of the species and number of animals requested; availability of less-invasive procedures and other species; safety of the working environment for personnel involved in the activity; adequacy of training and experience of personnel in the procedures to be used with the animals; appropriate sedation, analgesia, anesthesia, euthanasia, and surgical procedures; and, the unnecessary duplication of experiments.

The Principal Investigator or a representative of the research should attend the meeting to address any concerns or questions of the IACUC. Once the review is complete the researcher will be notified in writing by the committee Chair of the IACUC’s decision.

CONTINUING REVIEW OF APPROVED ANIMAL RESEARCH

All protocols undergo review of a Triennial Report every 3 years. The Triennial Report must be completed and approved by the anniversary date of original IACUC approval of the study. All protocols are also subject to Post-Approval Monitoring at some point during the life of the project. Please see Post-Approval Monitoring Form for more information.

REVIEW OF AMENDMENTS/CHANGES TO APPROVED ANIMAL RESEARCH

The IACUC must review any modifications to approved animal research.  The Principal Investigator is responsible for notifying the IACUC of any proposed major changes in approved animal studies, before initiation.  Examples of changes requiring IACUC approval of an Amendment include, but are not limited to, changes of project title, change of funding agency, additional number of animals, change of species, and change or addition of procedures. Contact regulatoryservices@uta.edu if you are unsure whether a change requires a protocol Amendment before proceeding.

The PI may request to add or remove personnel by sending an email to regulatoryservices@uta.edu or iacuc@uta.edu. Approval will be granted administratively once all immunization and training requirements have been met.