All institutions that use vertebrate animals for research, teaching, research training and biological testing are required to create an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to oversee and evaluate all aspects of the institution's animal care and use program. The IACUC members are appointed by the University president. The IACUC is a self-regulating body which derives its existence from the Animal Welfare Act and the Health Research Extension Act and its amendments, which are administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW).
The mission of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is to assure the well-being and proper care of all vertebrate animals used for research and educational purposes at Lincoln Memorial University. It serves the public by ensuring institutional compliance with all legal and ethical standards regarding the use of animals in research.
Investigators must have a protocol approved by the LMU IACUC before obtaining animals or conducting any project involving research, teaching, or testing using live, vertebrate animals.
