IACUC Policies

Post Approval Monitoring of Animal Use Protocols

Date adopted: December 9, 2008

Last updated: February 16, 2012

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at The University of Montana requires animal protocol oversight and post-approval monitoring of Animal Use Protocols (AUP).  Post-approval monitoring (PAM) involves monitoring AUPs after their approval.  PAM is intended to assist Principal Investigators (PI) and their staff members identify and correct (or amend) areas of "protocol drift" and meet regulatory requirements for assuring animal welfare. 

The IACUC recommends as a goal that 4 AUPs be selected for PAM based on pain and distress category on a quarterly basis. 

PAM will be implemented by the Animal Protocol Oversight Officer who regularly attends IACUC meetings as a visitor and who currently serves as the Surgical Specialist, Animal Technician for Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR).

PAM is a four-step program consisting of:

Step 1:    The Oversight Officer will contact an individual PI and schedule a convenient time to meet with him/her and all personnel listed on the PIs AUP who are responsible for animal manipulations and/or procedures described in the AUP.  The purpose of this meeting will be to review the AUP together and answer any questions or concerns posed by the PI and animal research personnel.

Step 2:    The Oversight Officer will schedule a time with the PI or his/her animal research personnel to observe an animal procedure(s) and/or manipulation(s) as described in the AUP under review.

Step 3:    The Oversight Officer will send the PI a report detailing the review of his/her AUP and animal procedures.  The review may include suggestions to enhance procedures and/or recommendations for amendments to the AUP.  The Attending Veterinarian and IACUC Coordinator may also add their recommendations to the report. 

Step 4:    The Oversight Officer will present the contents of the report at the next convened IACUC meeting.