Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
The IACUC is a standing committee at The Pennsylvania State University that oversees and evaluates all aspects of the University's animal care and use program. The Committee’s composition and responsibilities regarding animal research are mandated by the Animal Welfare Act (Public Law 99-198). For consistency and transparency, the IACUC follows specific policies, guidelines, & SOPs when making determinations about animal research. Researchers at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine should access information about their IACUC on the Infonet. This website is for the IACUC that serves University Park and all Commonwealth campuses except Hershey.
News and Announcements
Learn more about COVID-19 and animal research and facilities.
- See the IACUC holiday Protocol Submission/Review Schedule
- Check out our new IACUC Review Flowcharts to learn about the protocol review process and steps.
- The first triennial reviews in CATS IACUC are coming due. Researchers who need to submit a triennial review will be notified. Learn more about how to submit a triennial review in CATS IACUC.
Read all current news from the IACUC and Office for Research Protections on our ORP News and Announcements page.
The IACUC program is operating remotely but at full capacity.
AAALACi
Penn State has been AAALACi accredited since February 13, 2001. This is a voluntary accreditation that demonstrates commitment to excellence to animal care and use programs. The accreditation process involves triennial site visits. Penn State agricultural programs are also AAALACi accredited. See AAALACi’s website for more information about the accreditation process.
Committee Composition
By federal law, the IACUC must be composed of, at a minimum, five members with the following qualifications:
- An IACUC Chairperson
- A doctor of veterinary medicine
- An individual not affiliated with the institution, representing the community
- A practicing scientist experienced in animal research
- A member whose primary concerns are nonscientific.
If you are interested in serving on Penn State University's IACUC, please contact the Office for Research Protections at ORP-IACUC@psu.edu.
Resources and Training
- Required training: An overview and links to required training
- Education page: Helpful information about CITI, SARI, and CATS IACUC training IACUC Basic Steps: Guidance on the submission process
- Definition of Pain and Examples of Procedures by USDA Categories: Definitions of and examples for each category
Submitting to the IACUC
New IACUC applications and triennial renewals must be submitted through CATS (Centralized Application Tracking System) IACUC. For triennial renewals moving from PRAMS to CATS IACUC, the current PRAMS protocol number will be maintained. Principal investigators of these protocols will receive communication from the IACUC Program 90 days prior to the submission deadline.
Templates
See below for links to templates to assist with IACUC submissions and review.
Controlled Substance Receipt Log
Dispensed Drug Log
Expired Drug Log
Sample Breeding Record
Reviews
Submissions that have completed pre-review by Thursday at 5:00 p.m. will be sent to the entire committee for review. This committee review period ends approximately 10 days later when the protocols are assigned to Designated Member Review (DMR) or Full Committee Review (FCR) the day of the conference call. The IACUC conducts a conference call every Monday (or Tuesday in case of a holiday); after the call, if a protocol is not called to FCR by any member of the IACUC, the Chair assigns each protocol to a designated reviewer. The IACUC does not and cannot review and approve submissions during the conference call; the call is for discussion of concerns and assignment of reviewers only.
For more information about the various review processes and steps, refer to the IACUC Review Flowcharts.
More Information
- American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS)
- Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations
- Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC)
- Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching
- Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Animals
- Institute for Laboratory Animals Research (ILAR)
- Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Guidebook
- Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW)
- The Laboratory Animal Welfare Training Exchange (LAWTE)