Research Approvals Needed

Determining if approval is needed might be less clear cut than you think. Please see guidance for each research area. If you need further help at any time, contact the Research Compliance staff.

Human Subjects Research

• See our flowchart (pdf) for guidance.
• For further guidance, contact Institutional Review Board (IRB) Education at (650) 724-7141.

Animal Subjects Research

All research & teaching activities involving live or dead vertebrate animals require approval from the Administrative Panel for Laboratory Animal Care (APLAC).

This includes:

• Animal work done at Stanford
• Animal work done offsite, but funded by or under the direction of a Stanford 
  researcher
• Animal tissue use when animals are being euthanized specifically for your use.
• Field studies
• Custom antibody production

This does NOT include:

• Non-vertebrate animal work e.g. insects, jellyfish
• Animal tissues which would otherwise be discarded (animal was euthanized for 
  other approved research at Stanford)

For further guidance, contact the APLAC office at (650)723-4550.

Stem Cells Research

Research that involves the use of human stem cells, human embryos, or their derivations require approval. See our flowchart (pdf) for guidance.

Biohazards Research

Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) is responsible for the Administrative Panel on Biosafety (APB). Please see this APB website page for guidance.