Safety/Animal Use Check In
Animal Use Form
If you are using any multicellular organisms (animals, plants, insects, etc.) you will need to complete a Check-In form to tell us about any risks associated with your work and how you will be managing them. All animal research must also comply with your country’s national guidelines. Have a careful look at iGEM’s Safety and Security Policies for more information.
If you are planning on using vertebrates (e.g. rats, mice, guinea pigs, hamsters), or higher order invertebrates (e.g. cuttlefish, octopus, squid, lobster) you must also fill out this Animal Use Form before using them.
For the purposes of iGEM, use of animals includes using noninvasive and invasive experimentation with live animals, animal food studies, and any procedure resulting in the death of an animal, or harvesting any part of animal for study. Any part of an animal acquired through a third party must also be approved by the reviewing committee.
In addition to any institutional or national approvals required for the use of animals, teams will need to persuade the Safety and Security Committee of their need to use animals by using the Animal Use form.
Teams will need to make a case based on the three R's:
1. Replace
whenever possible alternatives to animal models should be used. Teams must be ready to explain why no alternative approaches were possible.
2. Reduce
if animals are to be used, the fewest possible needed to accomplish the goal of the research should be used. Teams must show they are using the appropriate number of animals to power their study.
3. Refine
animal research must use methods that minimize or alleviate pain, suffering or distress and enhance animal welfare. This includes appropriate housing, environment, stimulation, and feeding of animals.
All teams wanting to use vertebrates or higher order invertebrates in their project must make use of the Experimental Design Assistant ⇗ made available by the UK National Centre for the 3Rs. This is a free online tool designed "to guide researchers through the design of their experiments, helping to ensure that they use the minimum number of animals consistent with their scientific objectives, methods to reduce subjective bias, and appropriate statistical analysis". Teams will need to upload the diagram report made by the tool in the Animal Use form. Teams will also be asked to upload any approval paperwork and evidence of institutional review by an animal use committee (e.g. Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee in the US or China, or Ethics Advisory Board in the European Union).
To help make the case for using animals, teams should look carefully at the Key Concepts ⇗ in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals produced by the US National Academies of Science (also available in Chinese ⇗). There are also lots of different online resources ⇗ made available by the UK National Centre for the 3Rs. There are also new guidelines ⇗ for ethical review of animal welfare in China. We have also provided an example of a complete and compelling animal use form.
