IACUC Online Protocols Portal

  1. Research Animal Care and Safety
  2. Project Protocols
  3. IACUC Online Protocols Portal

Overview

All research, teaching, and outreach activities involving vertebrate animals at the University of Illinois must receive approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before initiation of the activity. A resident faculty member acting as the responsible principal investigator (PI) must prepare and submit a protocol once the need to use animal subjects is determined. The PI will login to the IACUC Online Protocols system to create a new protocol.

IACUC specialists can assist with the completion of protocols and answer questions. Contact the IACUC at 217-333-7789 or IACUC@illinois.edu.

Access the IACUC Online Protocols Portal

Online Protocol Portal FAQs

I am a PI. Can my students or staff create protocols on my behalf?
  • The online protocol system automatically assigns to the creator of a protocol the role of PI, and the role cannot be reassigned by the user. Once a PI has created a protocol and assigned “Senior Personnel,” those senior personal can edit or complete the remainder of the protocol.
  • The protocol PI can be changed by the administrators, but it is best for the intended PI to create protocols.
  • The PI always has responsibility for everything written into the protocol and for implementation and compliance, which is assured by checking the acknowledgement box on the title page. Only the PI is able to perform this function and perform the initial submission.
  • Senior personnel listed on a protocol can clone an existing approved protocol for a PI.
What are the advantages of the online protocol system?

In several important ways, the functions of the online system are more efficient:

  • Once a protocol is approved within the online system, it can be cloned. Thus, renewals of online protocols or generation of similar new protocols is relatively simple.
  • Personnel lists can be populated by adding multiple NetIDs all at once, and indicators will let you know who has not yet completed the required online training, and what is missing.
  • You will always have access to a list of the protocols you are named on, on the PI dashboard (iacuc-protocols.research.illinois.edu), with role and protocol status indicators, and on-demand PDF creation of protocols and approval letters. In addition, PDF prints are watermarked with status on each page.
  • You will be able to monitor animal use as animals are ordered in real time.
How does the “clone” feature work?

It creates an exact duplicate of a protocol, but does not check each section for completeness, nor does it automatically submit. You will need to make all modifications necessary for the updated project, and mark all of the sections complete before submitting.

There are two reasons you may want to clone a protocol:

  • Starting a new but similar study.
  • Renewing an existing study at the end of its lifespan.

The review process is the same for both.

Why is my protocol locked? I can’t edit it!

Protocols are regularly locked for two reasons:

  • Submitted protocols under review are locked. Additional changes will have to wait until after approval or when protocol access is returned when review questions are sent. Contact the IACUC Office if urgent changes are needed when a protocol is locked, and the staff will determine if it is feasible to make changes at the current stage of review. If a compliance unit other than the IACUC asks you to make changes when the protocol is locked, please contact the IACUC Office for assistance.
  • Protocols are locked by the system once there is less than three months remaining in its lifespan. Contact the IACUC Office if short term changes are needed (e.g., new personnel). No major chances are likely to be allowed, and you should go ahead and renew the protocol with desired updates if major changes are needed.
I want to add a visitor (non-UIUC person) to my protocol. How do find their name in the personnel section?

Non-UIUC personnel must obtain a “public” account from the IACUC Office. Once created, the guest user can access the system to complete training and be added to protocols. Contact the IACUC Office with the person’s name and email address, and an account will be created for them. Account creation takes only a few minutes, and once made, the person may be found in the “Non-University” look up function for Project Personnel on the protocol Title page. Guest account holders cannot be senior personnel or a PI.

I see a bug in the system! Who do I tell?

Contact the IACUC Office immediately with the protocol title or number and PI name, a description of the behavior, and the browser (i.e., Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) that you were using at the time, and the error message or a screenshot if available.

Don’t panic! Most problems can be fixed from the admin side!