Vertebrate animals are any animal with an internal spine/backbone or vertebral column.
Commonly seen vertebrate animals used in JEI projects include:
The following animals are not vertebrates and do NOT require approval to study:
If you are unsure if the animal you wish to study is a vertebrate, please reach out to us BEFORE starting your project for guidance.
All studies involving vertebrate animals must be approved before the beginning of the research project by a Scientific Review Committee (SRC) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), except in cases where all the following conditions apply:
If you are a regulated research institution, such as a university, a signed letter from the IACUC granting approval for the study is sufficient.
If you are not at a regulated research institution, you will need to form a SRC. A SRC is composed of at least 3 people, including a medical professional (veterinarian or animal care expert with training/experience in species being studied), an educator, and a school administrator. One person cannot fulfill multiple roles on the SRC even if they meet the criteria for more than one role. The SRC cannot include the research supervisor/mentor, anyone who is an author of the submitted manuscript, or any family members of authors on the submitted manuscript.
This form may be used and submitted to JEI to document approval of a study using vertebrate animals.
JEI is unable to form a SRC for authors as it is a conflict of interest for a publisher to arrange approval for research requiring it. Please do not contact us asking for names of individuals to serve on a SRC or if we can give approval for your study as we will be unable to do so.