Q5. Since the grants are typically approved for 5 years and the protocols are approved for 3 years, are the PIs required to include in the IACUC protocol experiments proposed to be performed in the 4th and 5th years?

A. Years 1 to 3: During the congruency review, the IACUC-approved protocol is expected to contain details of experiments to be conducted in the first 3 years of the grant application.  If the current IACUC-approved protocol is close to its expiration date, it is advisable to submit a new protocol instead of modifying the current protocol prior to the congruency review.

Years 4 and 5: The 4th and 5th year experiments in the grant application should be briefly described in the IACUC protocol with the explanation that details will be added at a later time, typically at the end of the 3-year cycle of the IACUC protocol prior to initiating the studies.