Animal Use Application Process

Work with live vertebrate animals is governed by the policies and guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs). An Animal Care and Use Protocol must be submitted and approved by the IACUC before animals are procured and prior to performing any work involving live animals.

If the work involves only the use of dead animals, animal tissues or fluids, or invertebrate animals, submission of a protocol for the IACUC review is not required. However, contact the IACUC Office to determine what information is necessary to gain approval for such use.

There are circumstances in which research grants are awarded to Boston University and/or BU is supporting research at an off-site facility. In these instances, P.I.s are not required to fill out an IACUC application from both institutions. Instead, once the P.I. has acquired an approved protocol from the offsite institution, a copy of both the application and the approval letter should be submitted to the IACUC. These documents still require approval from the IACUC and therefore follow the same submission deadline schedule on this website.

Animal research using live vertebrate animals is governed by the policies and guidelines of the Animal Care and Use Program at Boston University. An Animal Care and Use Protocol must be submitted and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before you can order animals or begin any experimental work involving live animals. The protocol application process is slightly different depending on whether the animal research will be conducted on the Boston University Medical Campus (BUMC) or the Charles River Campus (CRC).