The ARC staff are working largely remotely, with the exception of mandated facility inspections. Committee and PI meetings, RATS training, and ARC office hours are held via Zoom.
For questions about ARC business, contact the ARC staff at arc@research.ucla.edu or 310-206-6308.
The ARC administrative office works with the UCLA institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC), known locally as the Chancellor’s Animal Research Committee (ARC), to oversee the use of animals in research, teaching, and testing. To ensure the humane treatment and proper care of animals at UCLA, the office staff provides administrative support to the ARC for activities including the following:
- Animal protocol submission and review, including application pre-review, submission processing, communicating and explaining ARC queries, and issuing approvals
- Required animal user trainings
- Interpretation and application of policies and regulations
- Post-approval compliance checks of research activities
- Semi-annual facility inspections
- Semi-annual animal care and use program evaluations
- Inspection and evaluation reports
- Reports of noncompliance and/or mistreatment
The ARC administrative office serves three audiences: the public, by upholding the highest legal and ethical standards of animal care; the University, by ensuring institutional compliance with federal, state, and local regulations governing the use of animals; and the research community, by facilitating thorough and balanced reviews of protocols designed to better mankind and improve the understanding of science.
For more news, please check out ARC News.
The ARC's Functions
- Review and approve, require modifications in (to secure approval), or withhold approval of proposed activities related to the care and use of animals.
- Inspect at least once every six months all of the institution's animal facilities, including all satellite facilities, using the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide) as the basis for evaluation.
- Review at least once every six months the institution's program for humane care and use of animals, using the Guide as the basis for evaluation.
- Evaluate the qualifications of research personnel and provide appropriate training and education as deemed necessary.
- Make written recommendations to the Institutional Official (at UCLA, this is the Vice Chancellor for Research) regarding any aspect of the institution's animal program, facilities, or personnel training.
- Suspend activities involving animals if the ARC determines that the activity is not being conducted in accordance with the institution's policy and applicable provisions of the USDA Animal Welfare Act Regulations, the PHS Policy, and the Guide.
- Review and investigate reports of potential noncompliance with regulations governing the care and use of laboratory animals and take corrective actions as necessary.