SCAW Study of IACUC Activities in the U.S.By Ernest D. Prentice, Ph.D., and Lee Krulisch Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) have been functioning at many academic and industrial institutions for many years. Historically, in November 1985 the Health Research Extension Act of 1985 (Pub. L. 99-158) amended the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (Pub. L. 89-544) was amended in December 1985 by the Food Security Act of 1985 (Pub. L. 99-198), and as a result the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued regulations and standards to meet the new requirements of the law. The PHS Policy and USDA regulations specify how to implement provisions of the respective laws which apply to institutions that use animals in biomedical research and testing. The final responsibility for compliance with the laws, however, rests with the individual institutions themselves, mainly through the activities of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Both the PHS and the USDA consider the IACUC to be the agent of the facility charged with carrying out federally mandated responsibilities. While the PHS policy and USDA regulations specify the qualifications of IACUC members and responsibilities of the Committee, the precise manner in which a given IACUC operates and reviews research protocols is left to the discretion of each IACUC and the institution. While it is the intent of the federal government that IACUCs should play a major role in the institutions' compliance with regulatory requirements, there have been no studies which have attempted to evaluate the ways in which IACUCs operate. It is likely that there is considerable variability in Committee practices in different institutions, given the lack of specific guidelines for their activities. The Scientists Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW), a non-profit organization founded in 1979, is devoted to improving the welfare of laboratory animals by providing educational programs and materials about the responsible and humane use of all animals in research, testing and education. SCAW's activities are directed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom are scientists or ethicists who have worked in universities, government or private industry. While SCAW has provided many sources of information and support for members of IACUCs, there has been no real feedback on the actual activities of IACUCs on a national basis. Therefore, SCAW has designed a study of IACUCs at U.S. institutions. This study will include a written survey directed at 1,200 Chairs of IACUCs in academe and industry throughout the U.S. The goals of the IACUC study are: - to determine the scope of activities of IACUCS;
- to better understand current protocol review processes;
- to evaluate similarities and differences of IACUC management and function;
- to provide data bases for IACUCs to exchange information.
The idea for the IACUC study began at SCAW in 1992. An IACUC Study Advisory Committee composed of scientists, ethicists, and others was formed. Cygnus Corporation of Rockville, Maryland, was chosen to develop and conduct the survey. Questions were developed by members of the IACUC Study Advisory Committee and Cygnus Corporation. The questionnaire was mailed to IACUC chairs on or about January 5, 1996 with a three-week period for response. A short separate questionnaire is to be completed by nonaffiliated members of IACUCs. All information on the questionnaire will be confidential. After Cygnus Corporation analyzes the survey data, all identification codes will be destroyed before data are released. Once the data are collected and generally analyzed, an Executive Summary will be written and distributed to all respondents. On December 5-6, 1996, a two-day conference in San Antonio on current IACUC issues will be held, based on results of the survey. The conference will be sponsored by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and SCAW. SCAW/IACUC Study Advisory Committee- Joy A. Mench, DPhil, University of California at Davis (Co-chair)
- Lee Krulisch, SCAW (Co-Chair)
- Kathryn A.L. Bayne, M.S., Ph.D., D.V.M., The Rockefeller University
- Ernest D. Prentice, Ph.D., University of Nebraska Medical Center at Omaha
- Beth M. Ribbeck, Carolinas Medical Center
- Lilly Marlene Russow, Ph.D., Purdue University
- Donald Sawyer, D.V.M., Michigan State University
- Dale Schwindaman, D.V.M., USDA, APHIS/REAC
- Ada Sue Selwitz, The University of Kentucky Research Foundation
- Robert R. Smeby, Ph.D., Cleveland Clinic Foundation
- James F. Taylor, D.V.M., The National Institutes of Health
- Peter Theran, D.V.M., Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- Robert H. Weichbrod, Ph.D., M.B.A., Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute
- Gary B. Ellis, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health (ex-officio)
- Nelson L. Garnett, D.V.M., National Institutes of Health (ex-officio)
- John G. Miller, D.V.M., National Institutes of Health (ex-officio)
- Louis Sibal, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health (ex-officio)
Ernest D. Prentice, Ph.D., is Associate Dean for Research, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha NE, and President of the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare. Lee Krulisch is Executive Director of SCAW. | |
