How long will it take for my animal protocol submission to be approved?
- For A-class animal protocol, all seven committee members need to review the submission. If there are no repeated revisions during the review process, A-class animal protocol will be approved within twenty working days. For B-class animal protocol, only one committee member needs to review the submission. Similarly, if there are no repeated revisions during the review process, B-class animal protocol will be approved within twenty working days.
My animal protocol submission has been pending for a long time without approval. How can I check the progress?
- If more than ten working days have passed since the protocol submission and no response has been received, you can email the official IACUC mailbox (IACUC@hkust-gz.edu.cn) to inquire about the review progress.
If I find that an experimenter is violating animal ethics and animal welfare, how can I report it?
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) has established a reporting channel for animal welfare incidents. According to the Charter, any personnel at the university who discovers issues in the care and use of experimental animals at the university can report them immediately.
- The university has no restrictions on the identity of those reporting welfare incidents. In any case, reporting such incidents in good faith will not harm the individual's status within the institution. The university will not take any punitive action against those who report animal welfare incidents in good faith, and IACUC will keep the reporter's identity confidential.
- Electronic reporting channel: Official IACUC email: IACUC@hkust-gz.edu.cn.
- Offline reporting channel: IACUC has set up physical complaint boxes on the fourth floor of the LAF laboratory and in the blind spots of the LAF office surveillance and regularly checks the boxes for letters.
Why does my animal ethics submission require PI signature before submission?
- IACUC needs to ensure that the experimental content of every experimenter submitting animal protocol has been reviewed by the PI and that the experiment has been confirmed to receive funding support from the PI.