'V' Acronyms

Veterans Administration VA  
Provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents.

For additional information, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.

Vertebrate Animals Section VAS  
Section of a grant application or contract proposal addressing the following criteria:

  1. Description of Procedures

    Provide a concise description of the proposed procedures to be used that involve vertebrate animals. Identify the species, strains, ages, sex, and total number of animals by species to be used. If dogs or cats are proposed, provide the source of the animals.

  2. Justifications

    Provide justification that the species are appropriate for the proposed research. Explain why the research goals cannot be accomplished using an alternative model (e.g., computational, human, invertebrate, in vitro).

  3. Minimization of Pain and Distress

    Describe the interventions to minimize discomfort, distress, pain, and injury. These include analgesia, anesthesia, sedation, palliative care, and humane endpoints.

  4. Method of Euthanasia

    Provide a justification for methods of euthanasia that are not consistent with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals.

    • If answer is "No" to the question "Is method consistent with AVMA guidelines?", describe the method and provide scientific justification in the text field provided.
    • Note, for applications with due dates of January 25, 2016 to May 24, 2016, the method of euthanasia is addressed as the fourth criterion in the Research Plan, Vertebrate Animals Section: State whether the method of euthanasia is consistent with the recommendations of the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. If not, describe the method and provide a scientific justification.

For additional information, visit the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare – Vertebrate Animals Section webpage and the "General Instructions for NIH and Other PHS Agencies SF424(R&R) Application Packages" sections G.210 - PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement Form and G.220 - R&R Other Project Information Form.

Virtual Meeting VM  
Virtual Meeting, accessed through the Internet Assisted Review (IAR) module via eRA Commons, allows reviewers and scientific review officers to participate in an online review meeting in lieu of a face-to-face meeting at a physical location.

For additional information, visit the eRA Virtual Meeting webpage.