As if it wasn't hard enough to get a protocol approved by the Great Eastern University IACUC, it became even harder, or at least more frustrating, for Dr. Joyce Neiman when her protocol's “final” approval was delayed while waiting for an approval from the school's Department of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). This was a standard practice for any study that used a controlled substance as a test material rather than for veterinary clinical use, and Neiman's lab would be studying opioid metabolism in various animal species.

The OHS approval for Neiman's study arrived at the IACUC office about a week after the IACUC's approval and it included detailed instructions on drug safety, security, record keeping and disposal. It also required that Neiman and her research staff sign a copy of the instructions to indicate their agreement with the OHS requirements. Neiman gathered the needed staff signatures and returned the signed instruction form to the IACUC office. However, the office staff told her that the protocol still required a “final approval” by the IACUC and the next full committee meeting would be in three weeks. Neiman thought that was ridiculous because the IACUC had already approved the protocol and she didn't see why it now had to approve the signed OHS instruction form. Nevertheless, rather than getting into an argument with the IACUC office staff, she volunteered to personally get the final approval signatures from the IACUC members and bring them to the office. However, the office told her that would be considered polling and federal regulations did not allow for a vote by polling. She then asked to have the final approval processed by the designated member review process, but she was informed that at Great Eastern, designated member review typically took at least two weeks, and in terms of time, it was probably safer for her to just have the protocol approved at the full committee meeting.

Is the Great Eastern IACUC unreasonably delaying the start of Neiman's research or is the IACUC office just playing by the rules?

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Playing by the rules, but processes could be more PI friendly

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Did the IACUC jump the gun?

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Let's talk about self-imposed regulatory burden

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: A Word from OLAW