GMU Animal Subjects Policy

1. George Mason University will comply with all applicable Federal and state regulations governing the conduct of animal research and to maintain AAALAC, International accreditation. It is the responsibility of the university to provide facilities that make such compliance possible. Individual investigators are responsible for compliance with procedures governing the conduct of such research. Those procedural requirements are outlined below, abstracted from the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Faculty applying for extramural funding must also ensure that their procedures are in compliance with the requirements of their particular funding source. Some classroom instruction involving the use of animals also falls within the purview of this committee, and all instructors utilizing animal subjects should follow all applicable guidelines.
2. All research, testing, & teaching with vertebrate animals at George Mason University must be carried out under the supervision of a GMU faculty member (or veterinarian) qualified and experienced in the type of work being conducted, who assumes responsibility for the legal and ethical conduct of the work. Principal Investigators (PI) must ensure that all members of the research team understand and have access to any approved IACUC protocol on which they are listed, and that work does not commence until approval is received. PI’s are responsible to work closely with the GMU veterinarians for animal care issues and, especially in the case of pressing animal health concern, must be attentive and respond to any communications in a timely manner, when possible.
3. All work with nonhuman vertebrates and cephalopods whether for research or teaching purposes, must be approved by the GMU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to initiation of the work. This IACUC will be composed of at least five persons, including the university attending veterinarian, a nonscientist who is not otherwise affiliated with the university, and three faculty members. The board shall be appointed by the Institutional Official (IO) who is appointed by the University President to serve as the administrative official responsible for the Animal Care and Use Program. No member of the board may participate in any action involving his/her own use of animals. The board shall assure that the University complies with all legal requirements for the review of work involving animals, and is authorized by the University to suspend any animal work not in compliance with the regulations and policies governing animal care and use. “Work with nonhuman vertebrates” includes any work in which live nonhuman vertebrates constitute any part of the protocol. For example, work in which cell cultures are derived from live animals or organs harvested from live animals requires review; work in which organs or cells (living or dead) are purchased from non-GMU sources having a valid NIH Animal Welfare Assurance (and GMU personnel or resources are not involved in any way in the initial harvesting of tissue), does not require review. The chairperson of the GMU IACUC will determine whether a protocol requires review.  Other committee members (e.g., the IACUC Administrator or the Attending Veterinarian) may be asked to assist in this determination.
4. Application forms for animal study protocol review are available from the Office of Research Integrity & Assurance (ORIA). The following, abstracted from Federal regulations, shall constitute the primary, but not necessarily the only, criteria for such review.

• 4a. Housing – adequate facilities must be available for housing the subjects, OR funds must be available for construction prior to beginning the work.
• 4b. Care – provision must be made for regular and adequate food, water, and sanitation.
• 4c. Pain and Distress – this includes surgical procedures, painful stimuli, and any other procedure which may be reasonably judged to include more than slight or momentary pain or distress. Measures taken to reduce or avoid pain or distress must be described. These must include suitable anesthesia or analgesia to accompany surgery or other painful or distressful procedures. Exceptions will be granted only when the investigator can demonstrate that such measures would defeat the purpose of the research, and that the work is sufficiently important to justify allowing it to proceed without measures to alleviate pain or distress. Any permanent debilitation of the subject must be similarly justified.
• 4d. If any aspect of the experiment requires special training or licensing, such as use of radioactive materials, infectious agents or controlled substances, evidence of such training, approvals, or licensing will be required before approval.
• 4e. If the proposed work involves nonhuman vertebrates, the following additional information must be provided:
  • 4e1. A written description of alternatives to painful or distressing procedures that were considered, and the rationale for choosing the procedures contained in the protocol;
  • 4e2. Written assurance that the proposed work is not unnecessarily duplicative of other work;
  • 4e3. Plans for veterinary care during the proposed work;
  • 4e4. Assurance that the investigator has reviewed and will comply with all legal requirements specific to the proposed work (e.g., sterile conditions when surgery is proposed).
  • 4e5. A description of the training or experience that qualifies the investigator to carry out the proposed work.

For more complete details of requirements, the NIH Guide and USDA requirements are on file in ORIA for review, if needed.  While the above will constitute the committee’s primary criteria in its consideration of applications, the committee may from time to time amend this policy. Such amendments will apply to applications not yet approved, but not to approved applications.

5. The PI is responsible for ensuring that all personnel listed on his/her IACUC protocol remain in compliance with the required IACUC training requirements. Staff or students engaged in research who have not had adequate training in animal handling must receive such instruction before working with the animals. Staff members of Animal Care Resources (ACR) are available to provide such instruction.
6. The housing, care, feeding and observation of all animals must be supervised by individuals trained in such matters. Managers of animal care facilities are expected to meet the guidelines set forth in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals or other guides adopted by the IACUC. To operate efficiently and comply with federal laws and regulations, each animal holding location at GMU must maintain records pertaining to the care, use and disposition of animals housed within the facility. Such records shall be limited to species for which Federal or other regulations require written records of use.
7. Any individual who has a concern about animal care and use, animal welfare, or compliance with an approved project involving animals, or applicable regulations or laws may contact the IACUC Chair who shall investigate the allegation. Concerns may also be taken to the Institutional Official, the University Attending Veterinarian or any other member of the IACUC. Concerns regarding animal welfare can be reported in confidence to the IACUC office which does not have to identify the complainant. No member of the University community (faculty, staff or student) will be discriminated against or subject to reprisals for reporting possible violations of animal care standards.