Animal Oversight (IACUC)
NIH OLAW Animal Welfare Assurance: D16-00419 is approved from 2/14/2022 through 4/30/25.
What is IACUC?
The William & Mary Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) oversees research protocols using live vertebrates to ensure their humane care and treatment. For more information, please visit the OLAW website.
Note to VIMS Researchers: All compliance correspondence will be sent to your W&M email address. Visit the IT website for instructions on forwarding your W&M email to your VIMS address.
For questions about IACUC procedures or forms, please email [[researchcompliance]].
Managing an IACUC Protocol
- Log into the compliance management system, SPARCS.
- Select "Products" in the top right hand side of your screen.
- From the drop down, select "Animal Oversight"
- Your next steps might vary on the task you need to complete. Please visit our shared Box folder for how-to guides and videos to determine your next steps.
- Please allow for four (4) weeks for committee review of the protocol before the anticipated review/expiration date. Often, revisions are required and this will take additional time for the approval process.
Research may not commence until an approved protocol has been reviewed and ruled active.
Funding/Grant Applications
PIs who obtain external funding for projects must provide an active protocol number, title, and date of approval to their Sponsored Program Administrator prior to a Banner index being established for use. Annually, the researcher should update the protocol approval date with their Sponsored Program Administrator.
There must be congruence between the funded sponsored program narrative and the approved protocol.
Faculty who do not submit annual renewals in a timely manner are subject to fiscal account(s) being frozen until the annual review has been submitted/ approved.
Training
All personnel working with live vertebrates must receive sufficient training in all procedures in which they will participate to ensure that animals are properly cared for and maintained. New faculty, staff, and students are required to complete the CITI IACUC modules, along with any other applicable species or technique modules before beginning work with animals. Student and staff training will be supplemented by the principal investigator who is responsible for maintaining his/her own training level.
The Adjunct and Associate Adjunct Veterinarians will provide training, as needed, to any investigator who wishes to engage in surgical techniques with which they are unfamiliar. It is the principal investigator's responsibility to maintain training records for themselves and any other participants working under their approved protocol. Training records must be provided for inspection by any oversight authority including the IACUC.
