Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Submissions
All animal use protocols and amendments must be submitted for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) review.
New Protocols
Effective April 20, 2021, all new protocols must be submitted using DragonSPOT. Please note the submission deadlines and the review processes will remain unchanged. For more information about DragonSPOT, please visit the DragonSpot Support page.
Does your research involve work with live vertebra animals? If so, you will need IACUC approval before you can begin. Learn more about submitting a new protocol
Changes to Protocols
Changes to protocols can be made through amendments. Learn more about making a change to your protocol.
Principal Investigators (PIs) are encouraged to send any new protocols and amendments as soon as a reasonable draft is complete. Early submission helps ensure that there is no lapse in approval and that research continues uninterrupted.
Protocol Questions
Any research, testing, or teaching project which involves live vertebrate animals must be approved through the Drexel IACUC. An IACUC approved protocol may be required for animal tissue and fluids if the animal is procured or euthanized for research, testing, or teaching purposes or if manipulation of the live vertebrate animal occurs for research, testing, or teaching purposes.
Per Federal Regulations, the IACUC must consist of a minimum of five members and includes one veterinarian with experience in lab animal medicine, one practicing scientist working with research animals, one non-scientist member whose primary expertise is in another area, and one non-affiliated member. The Drexel IACUC satisfies all of these requirements and consists of a veterinarian with expertise in laboratory animal medicine, veterinarian technicians, several scientists whose work involves laboratory animals, several non-scientists including a biostatistician and ethicist, and a non-affiliated member of the community. All members are appointed by the Institutional Officer.
Approval of a new protocol usually takes approximately 5 to 8 weeks. This can be influenced by a variety of factors which include time required for revisions, biosafety requirements, time of paperwork submission, and volume of protocols. Early submission of protocols is encouraged.
Common reasons for delayed approval include delayed responses to revision requests, inconsistent or incomplete sections of the protocol, errors in calculations of animal numbers, insufficient justification of animal numbers, and biosafety requirements. This can be rectified by making sure all sections are complete and consistent before submission and contacting the IACUC ahead of time with any questions.
Protocols may be modified by submitting the appropriate amendment form. Any changes must be approved by IACUC before implementation.
Federal Regulations state the maximum amount of time a protocol can be approved for is three years. After three years you must apply for a new protocol.
If you have any questions regarding IACUC protocols please contact IACUC@drexel.edu.