The following announcement was issued by NIH staff in late August regarding changes in oversight of NSF funded animal research:

In August, NIH and the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced an agreement to harmonize oversight of the welfare of animals used in NSF-supported research activities, and to reduce regulatory burden to grantee institutions. As of October 1, 2015, institutions receiving NSF funding will need to:

1. include NSF-supported activities with live vertebrate animals as covered activities in their PHS Animal Welfare Assurance (Assurance), and
2. promptly report situations involving NSF-supported animal activities to OLAW as required by PHS Policy.

To learn more about the new requirements concerning animal research and your responsibilities as a researcher please visit the NIH web-posting.