Matching UCAR Protocols to Grants

One of the responsibilities of the IACUC (UCAR) is to verify that the information in an animal care and use protocol matches the grant that it cites. A clarification from OLAW (Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare) states, “Although there is no explicit requirement for the IACUC to do a side-by-side comparison of the application/proposal and the IACUC protocol review form, it is an institutional responsibility to ensure that the information the IACUC reviews and approves is consistent with that contained in the application/proposal to be funded”. AAALAC has also made grant-protocol matching an issue that they examine when doing site visits.

In order to comply with this clarification, and with AAALAC requirements, UCAR now requires that for all new PHS (NIH) grants or competitive renewals, a final copy of the submitted grant accompany the Animal Care and Use forms when they are submitted for review. You may submit an electronic version of the grant (MS Word or PDF) via e-mail. Protocol approval cannot be given until a comparison between the grant and the protocol is made.

The following elements in grants will be compared to the animal care and use forms:

1. Overall scope of the animal work

2. Proposed animal models (including species and specific strains)

3. Estimated animal numbers

4. Procedures performed on live animals

PHS requires that the IACUC (UCAR) verify that all animal work proposed in the grant application has been reviewed and approved. The approval letter that we provide to the PI is evidence of this approval. If a significant mismatch is found, between the protocol and the grant application, the PI will be informed and asked to make appropriate changes to the protocol before it is approved. PHS also requires that significant differences between approved protocols and grants to be funded be reported. As a result, if protocols are not changed to reflect all the animal work proposed in the application, UCAR may be required to inform PHS.

If you have any questions, please contact the UCAR Office at x5-1693.

updated 3/31/05