ABSTRACT
A quick glance at the membership roster of any Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will reveal the inclusion of a nonaffiliated member. The IACUC shares this feature with its counterpart in human subjects research, the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and with hospital ethics committees. It is a simple task to shrug off this observation with the customary comment about government regulations, while shifting one’s attention to more important things. Yet, a closer look provides insight into the wisdom behind the requirement of having a nonaffiliated member.
