Community Representatives and Nonscientists on the IACUC: What Difference Should It Make?

Abstract

During the 1980s, Congress and federal agency officials significantly revised US policy governing laboratory animal care and use. Before the revisions, activities involving laboratory animals were evaluated primarily by scientists and animal care staff employed by research facilities. The revised federal policy was designed to expand the evaluation to include other perspectives. New requirements for the participation of community members and nonscientists were established to further this aim. The revised federal policy has been in effect for more than a decade. In this article, I examine the requirements for community and nonscientist involvement in animal research oversight. First, I describe regulatory measures in the United States and other nations on public and nonscientist participation in research oversight. Then I discuss empirical data on and personal accounts of community representatives and nonscientists in the review process. I next consider different approaches to determining what these individuals can and ought to contribute. I conclude with suggestions on enhancing the participation of community representatives and nonscientists in evaluating laboratory animal care and use. My analysis draws on the relevant literature as well as my own experience serving as a nonscientist member of four different institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) between 1985 and 1998.