Ethics Committee for Animal Care and Use
Chair: Dr Tashfeen Ahmad
Ethics Committee for Animal Care and Use is the institutional body to
guide and create awareness about the humane care and use of animals at
Aga Khan University, and to ensure that the use of animals, including
but not limited to research, education, diagnostics and therapeutics, is
justified from ethical and legal perspectives.
It is responsible for the following:
- University policy for the humane use and care of animals in research
- Animal use protocol review and approval
- Animal Facility oversight
- Compliance monitoring, evaluation, and oversight for the program
The Animal Facility provides services for the following:
- Laboratory animal care
- Veterinary care
- Personnel training
These units work in conjunction to educate,
train, and assist investigators and study teams to comply with the
university regulations.
Members of ECACU
The committee comprises of a veterinarian, members from scientific background, a member from a nonscientific background, a public member and a clinical laboratories representative.
Review process
Use of animals for research, education or diagnostics is permitted only after approval from ECACU. Applications are submitted by email using the application form (LINK) under the forms section below.
The application review and response time is generally around 4-6 weeks. Applicants submitting proposals for animal-related work for regularly scheduled student modules such as research module or MPhil/PhD projects are advised to submit their applications at least two months in advance.
Responsibilities of animal users
Animal use is expected to follow the University policy on use of animals for scientific purposes and all applicable ECACU protocols (available on request) which provide guidance on humane care and use of animals in research. Applicants are expected to ensure that students, staff, and faculty on the project are qualified or will be trained to conduct the project in a humane and scientific manner. Occupational health and safety clearance is to be sought from ECACU for all personnel to be engaged in work with animals. Log book and project related documentation must be maintained for monitoring/audit purpose.
Progress report becomes due two months before expiry of the deadline, and is to be submitted using the report form in the Forms section below.
ECACU Forms
Training Resources
Workshop: Principles of Laboratory Animal Science workshop
CITI Courses:
- Animal biosafety
- Working with animals in research setting (species specific)
- Reducing Pain and Distress in Laboratory Mice and Rats
- Biomedical Responsible Conduct of Research
