Scientific and Pedagogical Merit
Research projects must have independent scientific merit review, also known as peer review, before ethical approval can be granted. Similarly, teaching protocols require assessment for pedagogical merit before animal ethics approval can be granted. Animal Use Protocol applications should be completed in the Memorial Researcher Portal and submitted prior to requesting peer review. If not already obtained, researchers will login to the Memorial Researcher Portal and ‘View’ the submitted application under the heading “Applications (Submitted – Under Review)”. Open and export your application as a PDF document, download any supplemental information from the Attachments tab, and email it to vp.research@mun.ca to arrange peer-review. For step-by-step instructions on how to complete this process please see this video.
External
Successful review by an external granting agency such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) or the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), qualifies as successful peer review.
Internal
Scientific merit review is conducted by the Office of the Vice-President (Research) in the event that the research proposal is not funded by a recognized granting agency. To avoid conflict of interest, reviewers must not be collaborators on the research project. Alternate forms of peer review may be accepted.
Collaborations
Each institution has the authority to request scientific merit review. In general, the host institution for the primary principal investigator provides scientific merit review, but it may be undertaken by each institution.
Teaching
Pedagogical merit for the use of animals should be reviewed and vetted by the associated Department during course creation and regular course content review.