TIMELINE
The deadline for submission of a proposed animal use protocol is the first working day of the month. Proposals submitted after that deadline will be considered the following meeting
The IACUC meets the first Tuesday of each month and at that time, the protocol is assigned to at least two reviewers. Within the next month (30 days), reviewers are encouraged to read and resolve issues with the Principal Investigator prior to the following IACUC meeting. If the issues can be resolved, the protocol is presented to the IACUC by the reviewers and all concerns are discussed by the members present. The reviewers make recommendations as to the disposition of the protocol application, and the recommendation is voted on by those members present. Within 7 working days after the monthly meeting, investigators will be notified in writing of the disposition of their protocol applications. The possible outcomes are approval of the protocol, a request for protocol modification, or deferral of a decision to allow for full committee review.
The IACUC commitee requests modification when a protocol application is of such a complex nature that the IACUC is unable to reach a decision. Such projects generally require clarification from the investigator or from an outside expert. In these cases, the investigator may be requested to come before the IACUC to address the members’ concerns and satisfy all the requirements before approval is granted.
The decision is electronically submitted to the UTC Compliance Division and the PI is notified of the decision by the Compliance Division. The entire communiqué is recorded and maintained by the Compliance Division.
Investigators have at least one month (30 days) to reply, in writing, to the IACUC recommendations/concerns raised during the review. During this period no approval is given to pirchase or use animals. Failure to reply by the stated deadline will result in the administrative withdrawal of the protocol application from review.
A well written protocol can be approved within approximately 40 days. However, if modifications are needed, the process could take 70-100 days. Again, during this period no approval is given to use animals.
