Animal Welfare Committee

The Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) is the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). It is charged with certifying that all research utilizing vertebrate animal subjects conforms to the principles enunciated in the Assurance of Compliance document negotiated between the Health Science Center and the Department of Health and Human Services and to regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It is of utmost importance to note that:

• All such research must be submitted to the Committee for review and approval before its initiation.
• All such research receives ongoing monitoring by the Committee appropriate to the level of risk involved.
• All modifications to approved research protocols must be submitted to the Committee for review and approval prior to implementation.
• All requests for review and approval must be submitted through the online protocol system iRIS Login Page.

The AWC is empowered to approve, modify or disapprove a research project. The AWC is empowered to terminate approval for any research activity that is not conducted in accordance with the methodologies approved or that is associated with unexpected serious harm to subjects. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees are mandated by Federal law and the Committee reports annually to DHHS on its membership structure and activity.

Questions for the Animal Welfare Committee?
Contact us at 713-500-3625 or via email [email protected].