New Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Training Requirements
All individuals engaging in research, research training, teaching, experimentation, biological testing, exhibition, and related activities (such as observation protocols) with live vertebrate animals will be required to complete the training requirements. Training is required for IACUC approval. Continuing education is required every 3 years. The training program includes training requirements for all persons involved in the Animal Care and Use program at DePaul, including IACUC members and animal care staff.
Web Programs
CITI
AALAS Learning Library
The Public Health Service (PHS) Policy, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Welfare Regulations and the Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (the Guide) require that all persons involved with the care and use of animals must be adequately educated, trained, and/or qualified in basic principles of laboratory animal science. The purpose of the training is to ensure high-quality science and the well-being of the animals. To meet educational standards, DePaul has initiated educational requirements. Persons requiring training include IACUC members, Office of Research Services staff with IACUC responsibilities, investigators, students, and staff listed as key personnel on IACUC protocols, and animal care staff.
DePaul University has adopted the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) online training program to provide the required education to animal care and use personnel. Individuals will be required to complete the number of modules assigned to their learner group (role) in the animal care program. The learner groups the DePaul IACUC has created for IACUC/Animal Research training program and that determines the courses and modules people need to take are:
1. Investigators, Staff and Students, Lab Animal Research
This group includes all investigators, co-investigators, and key personnel listed on IACUC protocols, including student researchers and research assistants. This learner group must take the “Working with the IACUC” course.
For investigators who are conducting field or observational studies, they must complete the Wildlife Training Modules from the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) Learning Library instead of CITI’s Working with the IACUC training.
2. IACUC Chairs, Members and Coordinators, Lab Animal Research
This group includes all IACUC members and Research Protections staff that have assigned responsibilities to support the IACUC. This learner group must take three courses, “Working with the IACUC,” “Essentials for IACUC Members,” and "Post-Approval Monitoring (PAM)."
To sign up for the correct courses for these two CITI learner groups, follow the step by step instructions on our web-page. These learner groups are not listed like this at the time you are signing up for the course. For investigators who are conducting field or observational studies and need to take the AALAS Wildlife Training Modules, follow these step by step instructions on our webpage.
For new protocols, individuals must complete training and receive IACUC approval prior to receiving or working with live animals covered under DePaul’s animal care program. New IACUC members must complete training before they may vote on animal protocols. In addition, all key research personnel listed on a Principal Investigator’s (PI) protocol must complete species specific training and any additional optional protocol-specific training as required by the IACUC and as applicable to the research protocol (i.e. surgical training, pain monitoring training) before they can be actively involved in working on a protocol or performing a protocol-specific procedure for new protocols and personnel.
Completion of training must be confirmed by the Office of Research Services (ORS) before a research protocol is approved for new protocols, before an IACUC member can actively vote on research protocols for new members. When training is not available in the CITI program for a specific species or for a specific procedure, other training resources, such as the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) Learning Library or investigator resources may be utilized.
The Principal Investigator (PI) is ultimately responsible for ensuring all research personnel listed on their protocol has completed required basic initial training and any special protocol-specific or species-specific training. Any non-CITI, non-AALAS Learning Library training methods must be approved by the IACUC, using the IACUC Request for Approval of Alternate IACUC Training Methods Form. Additionally, this training needs to be documented using the IACUC Alternative Documentation Form.
Verifying Training
The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for listing all key personnel that will be involved in the conduct of the activity described in the IACUC protocol including any collaborating or non-DePaul personnel. When the PI signs the assurance page of the IACUC application s/he is certifying that each person listed who must complete the DePaul training requirements has already completed the required training and that her/his research records contain copies of the training documentation. The Principal Investigator (PI) is ultimately responsible for ensuring all research personnel listed on their protocol has completed required basic training and any special protocol-specific or species-specific training. The PI should document what training is provided, the person who received training, and the date of training in their study records and provide this information to the RP, when necessary. When personnel is added to a protocol via a Change in Personnel, the PI is responsible for ensuring the appropriate training has been completed and documented.
CITI training records can be accessed directly by ORS, so sending a copy to ORS with the research application is not necessary. If Species Specific Training is completed by another method other than CITI a copy of the training documentation should be provided to the Office of Research Services along with the application materials.
Records documenting training will be confirmed by the Office of Research Services before a research protocol is approved, when additional personnel is being added or before an IACUC member can actively vote on research protocols. ORS will maintain the training records for individuals at all levels of the animal care and use the program at DePaul, except for animal care staff in the RSF. The RSF Director is responsible for ensuring that all animal care staff has completed training, that documentation of training is maintained in the RSF, and that all investigators and key research personnel receive orientation training for the animal facility and that this training is documented.