Animal Care and Use Committees
The Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) within your IC has primary responsibility for addressing animal research procedures and techniques, especially those performed in laboratory settings. The Chairperson of your IC ACUC is the most appropriate individual to address animal research concerns. An incident or finding that involves any of the following should be reported to your IC ACUC and then to the Office of Animal Care and Use (OACU) as soon as possible:
- Animal death, animal injury, or compromise of animal well-being due to negligence or inappropriate behavior by anyone in NIH managed facilities
- Any serious or continuing noncompliance with Public Health Service (PHS) Policy
- Any serious deviation from the provisions of the Guide
- Consulting with investigators, upon request, to help identify and resolve ethical and regulatory issues associated with the design and conduct of their human subjects research activities
- Suspension of an activity by any IC ACUC
This initial reporting should include a summary of the incident or finding, the initial corrective steps to be taken by the ACUC and/or the IC, and the probable ACUC oversight schedule. Initial reporting be should also be accomplished within 24 hours of the incident or finding.
Contact Information
For more information contact the Chairperson of your IC ACUC or go to the OACU website at http://oacu.od.nih.gov/.
