Logo of Harvard University with miniature Harvard crest
Harvard.edu

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University

Harvard University's Veritas Shield/Crest
Picture of animals used in research. From upper left, counter-clockwise: an anole, a zebrafish, baby goats, several xenopus frogs, a zebrafinsh, a mouse, and an emu.

Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences (“FAS”) maintains an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) as required by the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Animals are maintained in accordance with the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" (National Research Council, 8th edition, 2011), and all animal protocols must be approved by the IACUC before animals can be ordered.

The laboratory animal care program at the FAS is operated by the Office of Animal Resources (OAR). Space available for animal housing and use at the FAS currently totals over 80,000 square feet, primarily dedicated to rodents, zebrafish and other small species. All mice and rats are maintained in ventilated microisolator cages, and all facilities restrict access only to authorized persons and escorted visitors. Veterinary medical care is available on a 24-hour basis year-round. Details on the animal health surveillance program are available from OAR.

The FAS is registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Certificate No. 14-R-0128) as an animal research facility. The FAS holds a Letter of Assurance (File No. A3593-01) from the National Institutes of Health Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare and is registered with the Commissioner of Laboratory Animals, Cambridge Public Health Department. The FAS has been accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) since 1990.