Submission Review Deadlines and Dates

Administrative review can be applied for very minor changes to the protocol or for approval of protocols with no direct animal use. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Addition or removal of personnel
• Addition of an external funding source
• A change in procedure location
• Registration of an invertebrate animal project
• Registration for a student training/salary support award
• Registration of a project with all animal work subcontracted outside of UAB

Designated member review (DMR) is determined by the committee. A list of protocol submissions is regularly shared with committee members for determination of the review path. Protocols not selected for committee discussion remain with the assigned review team and can be approved once all reviewers recommend approval. 90% of protocols follow this review path.

Full committee review (FCR) is determined by the committee. Any member at any time in the review may request a protocol be discussed at the next convened IACUC meeting. The committee meets on the last Wednesday of each month (except for December). While only 10% of protocols take this review route, certain types of protocols are more likely to be selected for committee discussion. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Pain category E (unrelieved pain or distress) procedures/studies
• Special exemptions to UAB or regulatory requirements (e.g., enrichment, water control, nonpharmaceutical grade anesthesia or analgesia, aseptic technique, etc.)
• Internally sponsored projects (i.e., no external peer review)
• New or unique species, disease models, procedures, or equipment
• ABSL3 or novel health/safety hazards
• Complicated and/or numerous changes to an existing protocols

There are no hard deadlines for protocol submission and review related to Full Committee Review. If you are concerned your protocol may be selected for FCR a list of recommended submission dates is included in the Review Deadlines and Dates table.