Animal Research Advisory Committee (ARAC)

The Animal Research Advisory Committee (ARAC) meets monthly or as needed and is chaired by Dr. Richard Wyatt (OD/OIR); the vice-chair is Dr. David Bodine (NHGRI). Committee members include the Animal Care and Use Committee chairs from each of the ICs that utilize research animals, and representatives from Office of Animal Care and Use (OACU), Division of Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS), Office of General Counsel (OGC), and the NIH Fellows Committee (FELCOM). Additional members include a community member and an ARAC Ombudsman. The ARAC Ombudsman reviews outside complaints and inter-Institute animal care and use issues, and also functions to minimize interruption in the conduct of research.

In addition to advising the DDIR on the NIH IRP's program for the humane care and use of animals, the ARAC supports the IRP's conformance to recommendations and standards of the National Research Council's Institute of Laboratory Animal Research Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. ARAC also reviews IC and/or trans-NIH concerns involving the care and use of animals at NIH following investigation, deliberation, and resolution by the IC ACUCs. Further, ARAC drafts, endorses, and promulgates formalized guidance concerning various practices and procedures carried out in the intramural NIH Animal Care and Use program.