Sean Smith and his wife Liz were both researchers at Great Eastern University. Sean, who was a member of the IACUC, was quite disturbed about an ongoing protocol review that he believed compromised the well-being of some sheep. The IACUC chairman had appointed the attending veterinarian (AV) as the sole Designated Member Reviewer for a protocol that Smith assumed would be a 'no brainer' for a veterinarian. The Principal Investigator (PI) proposed a surgical procedure utilizing appropriate anesthesia but no analgesia. Smith had done similar surgery some years earlier and acted as a consultant for the PI. He specifically reminded the PI to use an analgesic, but the PI chose not to, claiming that because the sheep were expected to be up and walking within an hour after surgery, analgesia was not needed. Smith was positive that the AV would notice this and request that an analgesic be added before the protocol could be approved.

But, when Smith asked the PI about the progress of the protocol, the latter said that he needed to respond to some small items in order for the protocol to be approved, but that the use of analgesia was not one of them. That evening, Sean related the story to Liz, and as they mulled the problem over, Liz came up with an idea. “Sean,” she said, “Why don't you just ask for Full Committee Review [FCR] before the protocol is approved by the veterinarian?” “I can't,” he answered, “I blew my chance when the IACUC office asked the committee members if anybody wanted FCR and nobody said that they did.” But Liz was not about to give up. She read through all of the IACUC material that Sean brought home and found a passage from an Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare Notice1 stating in part that “...any member of the IACUC may, at any time, request to see the revised protocol and/or request FCR of the protocol.” “Doesn't that count, Sean?” she said. “Not really,” he responded, “that's only for special circumstances.” “Well,” said Liz, “I didn't see anything in what I read which suggested that an IACUC member can't request a FCR before the Designated Member Reviewers have come to a decision. I think you should ask for a FCR as soon as you can, like sending an e-mail right now to the IACUC office.”

Is Liz Smith right? Can an IACUC member who is not a Designated Member Reviewer request a Full Committee Review while the Designated Member Reviewers are still deliberating?

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Not too late for FCR

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: A word from OLAW and USDA

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Sean dropped the ball

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Talk to the veterinarian!