The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) ensures that animal research complies with regulations, policies and guidelines for the humane care of animals. IACUC review of live vertebrate animal research includes two to three stages of review prior to approval.

• All protocols are first reviewed by the Animal Research Compliance (ARC) team, part of Research Integrity.
• After necessary modifications are made, next a Brown veterinarian may review the protocol.
• Finally, protocols must be reviewed by the IACUC.

The IACUC is a group of volunteer scientists, non-scientists, veterinarians and community members. All members are required to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to service on the committee and must be available to attend meetings on the first Friday of most months. If you are interested in becoming a member of the IACUC, or have any questions related to the committee and its review processes, contact iacuc@brown.edu.

Meeting Dates and Deadlines (2024)

About IACUC Deadlines

The submission deadline is the date by which research protocol must be submitted in the InfoEd electronic platform (login required) to be considered for review during the corresponding full committee meeting date.

The pre-review deadline is the date by which submitted protocol must have passed pre-review with the Animal Research Compliance team and the veterinary pre-review in order to be considered for review during the corresponding full committee meeting date.

The full committee meeting date is the date the IACUC meets to review submitted protocols.  

About IACUC Meeting Review

Protocols that are submitted by new faculty, propose non-human primate work or propose USDA Category E or equivalent procedures are reviewed by the full committee by default. Other protocols may be reviewed by delegated content expert IACUC members as appropriate. The committee reserves the right by federal regulations to call any protocol to full committee review at any time, regardless of approval status. 

Note that per federal regulations, IACUC review cannot be expedited or modified despite external deadlines, including funding. Federal regulations also require a period during which all members of the IACUC must be allowed to review the protocol. This period is defined by Brown University's federal research assurance and is done to preserve the integrity of the review and ensure that the highest standards of animal welfare are kept.

If your protocol requires full committee review and the submission deadline for the next IACUC meeting has passed, please review the Animal Holding Policy and contact the Animal Research Compliance (ARC) team immediately at iacuc@brown.edu.