Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee is the body that provides oversight and ensures appropriate review of the use of vertebrate animals in teaching, testing, and research. The committee composition is generally designed to be broad enough to represent both scientific and nonscientific interests. Oversight of animal care and use is accomplished by committee review of proposed activities using vertebrate animals and by conducting regular program reviews and facility inspections. Any concerns regarding mishandling of animals are investigated by the committee and corrections are made as appropriate. Because judicious use of animals in research is paramount, it is essential to design experiments that use the minimum number of animals needed to yield statistically valid results.