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Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Is 'duplicative' really duplication?

Lab Animal volume 42, pages 81–82 (2013)Cite this article

There are no circumstances under which Finster would be in his rights as an IACUC Chairperson to reject any proposed research before it reaches full committee. Legally, the Chair is given no different rights in protocol review than any other member of the IACUC, and only the IACUC can withhold approval for proposed use of animals. If designated member review (DMR) was the standard process used at this institution, Finster did not forward the protocol to the IACUC and hence did not meet the legal requirement of DMR. Reviewers participating in the DMR process are not allowed to withhold approval of protocols.

The Animal Welfare Act Regulations1 (AWARs; section 2.31 (a)) indicate that the IACUC is responsible to determine that investigators have provided “written assurance that their research activities do not unnecessarily duplicate previous experiments.” For concerns regarding the possible duplicative nature of a particular protocol, referral to the full committee for discussion by a wider audience, possibly including the principal investigator, is necessary.

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References

  1. Animal Welfare Act Regulations. Code of Federal Regulations. Title 9, Chapter 1.

  2. Mandrell, T.D. Alternatives and the Animal Welfare Act. AWIC Newsletter 2 (1991). http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/newsletters/v2n1.htm

  3. Morgan, D. Avoiding duplication of research involving animals. Occasional Paper No 7. (New Zealand National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee, 2011). http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/regs/animal-welfare/pubs/naeac/occasional-paper-7.pdf

  4. Public Health Service. Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, 1986; amended 2002).

  5. ARENA/OLAW. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Guidebook 2nd edn. (OLAW, Bethesda, MD, 2002).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johnson is Assistant Lecturer, Laboratory Animal Facility, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago,

    Jenelle Johnson

  2. Brown is Lecturer in Avian Medicine in the Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago,

    Gabriel Brown

  3. Hickman is Director, Laboratory Animal Resource Center, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN.,

    Debra L. Hickman

Authors
  1. Jenelle Johnson
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  2. Gabriel Brown
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  3. Debra L. Hickman
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Johnson, J., Brown, G. & Hickman, D. Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Is 'duplicative' really duplication?. Lab Anim 42, 81–82 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.231

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