Welcome to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for MGH and Shriner’s Hospital
The IACUC oversees the MGH animal care and use program. The IACUC acknowledges the essential role that live animals play in allowing researchers make discoveries that turn into treatments, diagnostics, and devices that improve quality of life. The IACUC is committed to ensuring the highest ethical standards of animal care and use at MGH and believes animals used in biomedical research and education should receive the best possible treatment and care.
The MGH IACUC is a Committee of almost 30 members comprised of scientists, nonscientists, veterinarians, and community members. It ensures the animal care and use program complies with Federal, State and local regulations as well as accreditation standards. The IACUC is responsible for overseeing and evaluating the MGH Animal Care and Use Program, through protocol review, post-approval monitoring and facility inspections. The IACUC is a federally-mandated entity that receives its authority from the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) enforces the Animal Welfare Act Regulations (AWAR) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) implements the PHS policy. IACUC must ensure the MGH laboratory animal program is compliant with Federal and State regulation, as well as institutional policies and procedures.
The Animal Welfare Assurance Office (IACUC office) is the administrative unit that helps the IACUC fulfill its institutional, regulatory, and oversight responsibilities. In addition, the office staff provides customer service to all participants of the MGH Animal Care and Use Program. The Director of the IACUC Office is Anne Clancy, PhD.
The Attending Veterinarian is responsible for the health and well-being of all laboratory animals used at the institution. She is also a voting member of the IACUC and the Director of Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM). MGH’s Attending Veterinarian is Donna M. Jarrell, DVM DACLAM .
Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM) is a team of highly trained individuals dedicated to the humane care and use of animals in the MGH. CCM is a distinct department, separate from the IACUC office, who work in close collaboration with the IACUC to implement the committee’s policies and standards. CCM is responsible for animal procurement, housing and other activities in the centralized CCM facilities. To learn more about CCM please click here to visit their website.
The Institutional Official is appointed by the President and is the individual who, as a representative of senior administration, bears ultimate responsibility for the MGH Animal Care and Use Program and is responsible for resource planning and ensuring alignment of program goals with the institution’s mission. MGH’s Institutional Official is Harry W. Orf, Senior VP for Research.