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56th Annual TBAALAS Conference
February 07-09, 2018
Hilton Hotel and Conference Center
College Station, TX
www.tbaalas.net
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Texas Branch AALAS Board & Committee Members
President Ryan Byrd, RLATG
Past President Lindsay Holmes, BS, RLAT President Elect Karen Guerra, MBA, CMAR, RLATG
Secretary Sheri Brodie, BS, CMAR, RLATG
Treasurer Tressie Roark, LVT, LATG Board Member Carrie Schultz, PhD
Board Member Eli Rodriguez, BA, LATG
Board Member Elizabeth Magden, DVM, MS, DACLAM,
Board Member Julie Roller, BS, MS, RLATG, CMAR District VII Trustee Lindsay Holmes, BS, RLAT
Alt D7 Trustee Christopher Southern, CMAR, RLATG
Commerical Liaison Mike Dvarak, Tecniplast Commercial Co-Chair Paulina Michaud & Brian Geyer, Tecniplast
Parliamentarian Lane Watkins, CMAR, RLATG
Historian Leticia McGuffey Legislative Nicole Monts De Oca, DVM
Membership Chair Amy Swetnam, LVT, RLAT
Membership Co-Chair Tocarra Reynolds, RALAT
Nominations/Elections Jody Swain, DVM Nominations/Elections Angie Hitt, BS, RLATG, CMAR, CPIA
Publications Chair Matthew Schmit, BS, RLATG
Publications Co-Chair Scott Buss Technician Branch Rep Kristen Flora, BS, RLATG, PMP
Long Range Planning Lindsay Holmes, BS, RLAT
Education & Training Chair Summer Boyd, MS, RLATG Education & T. Co-Chair Kelly Gale, BS, RLATG
ALL Coordinator Ashley Pawelka, LVT, RLATG
Webmaster Chair Cordelia Rasa, MS, CMAR, RLATG, SRS
Webmaster Co-Chair John Donaho Metro Coordinator Michelle Smith, BS, LVT, RLAT Houston / Galveston
Metro Coordinator DeShawn Thomas, BS, RLATG Houston / Galveston
Metro Coordinator Kim Hildreth San Antonio Metro Coordinator Gabby Kapp, CMAR Central
Metro Coordinator Brittney Hubbard, MS, RLAT Dallas / Fort Worth
Metro Coordinator Oscar Sanchez, BS, CMAR, RLATG West Texas
Metro Coordinator VelvetLee Finckbone, MS, RLAT Panhandle 2018 Meeting Planner Paula Rigling
2018 Program Chairs Jennifer Volkmann, MLAS, CMAR, RLATG
2018 Program Co-Chair Mona Jaffari, MBA, LAT 2018 Local Arrangements Chair John Parks, RLATG
2018 Locak Arrangements Co-Chair Chris Rogers, BA
2018 Awards Chair Keely McGrew, BS, CVT, RLATG, CMAR 2018 Awards Co-Chair Cindy Evans, BS, RLATG
2018 Sponsorship Chair Michelle Sager, RLATG
2018 Sponsorship Co-Chair Rebecca Blackwood, DVM, DACLAM
2018 Silent Auction Elizabeth Magden, DVM, MS, DACLAM & Carrie Schultz, PhD 2018 Tech Olympics Kristin Flora, BS, RLATG, PMP, Julie Roller, BS, MS, RLATG, CMAR &
Eli Rodriguez, BA, LATG
2018 Meeting Logo Gloria Garcia, BS, RLATG
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Schedule of Events
Wednesday: February 07, 2018
8:00 a.m.- 10:00 a.m. Set up in the vendor exhibit area Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Registration Promenade 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Mini-Leadership Academy: How to Become Involved Mockingbird A-D
(Breakfast Included)
8:45 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. AREA Student Program North & South 40
9:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Vendor Presentations Brazos Amphitheater 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Helen Jordan Memorial Exhibit Hall Open Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Silent Auction Bidding Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Technician Fun Fair Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom 12:00 p.m.- 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Scientific Session Brazos Amphitheater
1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Silent Auction Bidding Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Helen Jordan Memorial Exhibit Hall Open Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Technician Fun Fair Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Poster Session Pre-function area
(3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Authors present at poster display for judging)
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Shuttle Transportation to Kyle Field Begins Outside Hotel Lobby 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Welcome Reception Kyle Field All American Club North
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Tour of Kyle Field Kyle Field All American Club North
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Dinner & Refreshments Kyle Field All American Club North 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Technician Olympics Kyle Field All American Club North ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday: February 08, 2018
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast in Vendor Exhibit Hall Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
7:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Helen Jordan Memorial Exhibit Hall Open Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Registration Promenade
8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Silent Auction Bidding Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Technician Fun Fair Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Resume Review Panel Board Room
8:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Scientific Session Brazos Amphitheater 10:15 a.m. -10:30 a.m. Break
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. KEYNOTE SPEAKER Brazos Amphitheater
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Break
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Awards Banquet & Luncheon Oakwood Ballroom 2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Silent Auction Final Bidding Window! Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Silent Auction Item Payment & Pickup Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Helen Jordan Memorial Exhibit Hall Open Bluebonnet Grand Ballroom 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Technician Fun Fair – Last Chance to complete entries! Brazos Amphitheater
3:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Technician Fun Fair Entries Due Registration Table
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. LGL Tour LGL Animal Care Products 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center Tour Texas A&M Schubot Center _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Friday: February 09, 2018
7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast Conference Lobby
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Registration Promenade
8:30 a.m. -11:15 a.m. Scientific Session Bluebonnet Ballroom 5 & 6 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center Tour Texas A&M Schubot Center
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Thomas G. Hildebrand Equine Complex Tour Texas A&M Equine
Complex 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. TBAALAS Board Meeting North & South 40
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Scientific Session List of Speakers
Wednesday Morning: February 07, 2018 Location: Brazos Amphitheater ♦ Moderator: Mona Jaffari
9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Manny Dieguez Ventilated Caging Maintenance: What you don’t know might actually hurt you, your animals and the research (Allentown)
9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Christine Giammaruti Eliminatee the Bottleneck in Your Life (Transnetyx)
9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Bryan Guilder Advantages of Utilizing Animal Facility Software (A-Tune Software, Inc.)
10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Richard Cluck Digitalization of the Vivarium (Tecniplast)
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Kristin Roberston Canines in Biomedical Research: Laboratory Diets vs. Traditional Pet Foods (Purina Lab Diet)
10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Kim Metzler Challenges with Cleaning Validation (Sanitation Strategies)
11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Laura Tracey Impact of Extrusion on Bioburden in LabAnimal Diets
(PMI Nutrition International LabDiet®) 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Manville Michael Performance Based Solutions for Sustainable Animal Drinking
Water, Filtration, Treatment, and Monitoring (SE Lab Group)
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch
Wednesday Afternoon: February 07, 2018
Location: Brazos Amphitheater ♦ Moderators: Sheri Brodie denotes award eligible *denotes TBVME CEUs
1:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Ryan Byrd Opening Remarks, 2017 TBAALAS President 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Jennifer Smith *Enhancement of Cardiovascular Research Models
1:30 p.m. -1:45 p.m. Mary MacCallum Flirting with Disaster- Making the Best of Planning for the Worst
1:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Jacob Moore Food Aggression and Dominance in Laboratory Pigs
2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Lara Sims Housing Guinea Pigs in an ABSL-3 Facility
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Nicolé Monts de Oca *Creating a Culture of Continous Improvement, One Process at a
Time
2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Chris Southern Leadership Development
3:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Pat Sikes What’s Happening in Diabetes Research? How Can We Spread the
Word? 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Anita Richert *Homes for Animal Heroes- Texas Division __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday Morning: February 08, 2018
Location: Brazos Amphitheater ♦ Moderator: Albert Gross denotes award eligible *denotes TBVME CEUs
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Julie Roller The Importance of Education: UTSWC Outreach Team
8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. John Donaho Going from 7 to 14 Day Cage Change Intervals 8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Keely McGrew Public Outreach: The Why and How
9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Ann Turner The Most Important Animal in the Lab-The Human
9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Rebecca Welch *Edema and Abdominal Distension in an Owl Monkey (Aotus
nancymaae) 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Joseph Schech *Zebrafish: The Difference is in the Details
10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Break
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Keynote Speaker
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Break
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Awards Banquet & Luncheon
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Break
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Thursday Afternoon: February 08, 2018
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Friday Morning: February 09, 2018
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom 5 & 6 ♦ Moderator: Stephanie Fowler *denotes TBVME CEUs
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Whitney Kiehl *Unique Canine Disease Model at Texas A&M: Unraveling the
Intricacies in Managing a Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Canine
Colony 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Elizabeth Magden *Quality of Life Assessments for Captive Nonhuman Primates
9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Brianne Hibl *Poxvirus Infection in a Colony of Laboratory Pigeons
(Columba livia) 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Stephanie Fowler Colonization Strategies: Ideas for Recruiting Staff Raising Rodents in
a New Gnotobiotic Facility
10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Vanessa Jensen *Patient Derived Xenografy Model Development and Biosafety
10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Jennifer Teague My Experience at National AALAS Meeting in Austin as 14th Annual
Lab Products Technician Award Winner
11:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Karen Guerra Closing Remarks, 2019 TBAALAS President
Thank you to the 2017 Program Committee!
Jennifer Volkmann Mona Jaffari Albert Gross
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2018 Vendor Booths*
ALAB Equipment Specialist Lynx Product Group
Allentown, Inc. Matachana USA
Alternative Design Mfg. Medline Industries, Inc
Ancare Corp. Micronova Manufacturing
Animal Care Systems Pharmacal Research Laboratories, Inc
Art's Way Scientific Purina LabDiet
a-tune Software, Inc. Quip Laboratories, Inc.
Baker Company Rees Scientific
Beta Star Life Science Equipment Research Supply Company
BetterBuilt Sanitation Strategies, LLC
Biomedical Solutions, Inc. Scientific Resources Southwest, Inc
Bio Serv Scintica Instrumentation
BMT USA, LLC Shepherd Specialty Papers
Britz & Company SMC-Roe
Carter 2 Systems, Inc. Spray Master Technologies
Charles River Superior Laboratory Services, Inc.
Covance Research Products Systems Engineering Lab Group, Inc
Edstrom Industries, LLC Taconic Biosciences, Inc.
Envigo Tecniplast USA
Getinge Group The Andersons Bedding Products
Gruenberg-TPS The Jackson Laboratory
Hilltop Lab Animals, Inc. Thoren
Innovive Total MRO
InterMetro Industries Corp. Transnetyx, Inc.
Lab Products, Inc. VetEquip, Inc
Lab Supply Veterinary Anesthesia Systems, Inc.
LGL Animal Care Products, Inc W.F. Fisher & Son
Life Science Products, Inc. Zeigler Bros., Inc
*registered as of January 19, 2018
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Thank you to our 2018 Meeting Sponsors!
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2018 POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
denotes award eligible denotes first time presenter
Sunflower Seed Placement: Effects on Mus Musculus’ Food Grinding Stereotypy Angela Asch, RALAT
MD Anderson Cancer Center
In the field of laboratory animal science, food wastage by mice, known as food grinding, has been a long standing husbandry issue. From a behavioral perspective, food grinding is considered a stereotypic behavior with unclear origins. Previous
studies have found that gender and genetics do not seem to play a role in the predisposition for food grinding behavior
(Pritchett-Corning et al). There is evidence to show that compulsive food grinding may be related to stress, or perhaps abnormal serotonin levels (Koteja et al.). It also appears that food grinding may be ablated by adding sunflower seeds into
the environment as enrichment (Morely et al.). I hypothesized that sunflower seed location in the cage might affect the
overall amount of orts produced by the mice within a 14 day time frame. A population of 24 mice in 8 cages were chosen for their excessive food grinding behaviors. They were randomized for age, gender and genotype. Environmental parameters
and physical location of the cages within the room remained consistent throughout the trial. 2.5 grams of sunflower seeds
were added into each cage at change-out. Ort volume was measured in cm³, through the floor of the cage, using a basic
metric ruler. A baseline average of 27.54 cm³ in ort production was calculated for each mouse in the study over a 14 day period of accumulation. When sunflower seeds were added into the food hopper on top of the pelleted diet, average ort
production for each mouse increased to 45.20 cm³. Adding sunflower seeds on top of the pelleted diet had a deleterious
effect. However, when the sunflower seeds were mixed with the bedding of each cage, the average ort production for each mouse dropped drastically to 15.47cm³. Therefore, it appears as though sunflower seeds mixed into the bedding of mouse
cages may significantly decrease ort production. In contrast, mixing sunflower seeds into the food hopper may cause
increased ort production.
The Effects of Catch-Glove and Transport Chute Acclimation on NHP Responses to Hand Restraint
Ashleigh Boyd, BS, Keely McGrew, BS, CVT, RLATG, CMAR
Charles River Houston
Charles River Research Models-Houston serves as an import and holding facility for the non-human primate research model
Cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis). Before exportation to their research institutions, macaques may be housed in
group pen units with several (7-10) other pen mates. Monkeys housed in pen units will experience hand catching for multiple occasions such as blood work, treatments, examination and exportation packing. Hand catching can be a stressful
event for both the caught primates and primates in neighboring pens. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether
acclimation to hand catching equipment and providing a non-contact alternative such as a transport chute will lower stress related behavioral responses during catching events. The changes in behavioral responses will be charted using an ethogram
and represented in graphs, and recommendations for future handling will be suggested from the outcomes.
Effect of Visual and Auditory Blocks on NHP Responses to Manual Restraint
Courtney Fadis, AA, Keely McGrew, BS, CVT, RLATG, CMAR, Ashleigh Boyd, BS Charles River Houston
The Charles River Houston location specializes in the housing and transportation of non-human primates. Primates are held until they clear CDC quarantine, then prepped for transport to other facilities. In the social housing units, the primary method
of retrieving animals for processes and procedures is through the use of hand-catching to manually restrain them. During
the hand-catching procedure, we noted primates exhibiting behaviors such as freezing, darting, and huddling into large
groups while embracing one another. After witnessing hand-catching, it seems that the primates correlate staff with the process, rendering them significantly less responsive to human interaction. We theorized that providing the nearby animals
a visual block from viewing hand-catching activities will prevent them from correlating husbandry staff with the process,
which will increase the likelihood of positive human interaction being more impactful. We designed a portable partition that can be placed in front of the pen where hand-catching is occurring. To reduce the impact of vocalizings from caught
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animals on the nearby units, spa music or jungle sounds will be played to block out the screeching. We recorded behavioral responses and compared the responses to those recorded without these interventions to see if visual and auditory blocks
reduced fearful behaviors. We also compared responses to human interaction in each of the two scenarios. This data
presented, along with other suggestions on how to reduce fearful behaviors in handling nonhuman primates.
Keeping the ‘Known’ in Gnotobiotics: A Minimalist Approach
Keisha Roberts, LAT, Adrienne Ferguson Duran, BAS, LVT, LATG, CMAR, Vancheswaran Gopalakrishnan, PhD;Johanna
Guio, BS; Luigi Nezi, PhD; Jennifer Wargo, MD; V. Behrana Jensen, DVM, DACLAM UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
To study different microbiomes in mice, they must be able to be maintained as germ-free initially, followed by a gnotobiotic
environment. Unfortunately, many institutions do not have gnotobiotic facilities due to the resources required to build or maintain such an environment. Here at MD Anderson, we have been successfully maintaining gnotobiotic mice using our
standard equipment along with strict barrier procedures for a maximum of 3 months duration. A small procedure room was
selected to convert into a gnotobiotic animal housing room, which was equipped with a biological safety cabinet (BSC), a laptop computer, a stainless steel cart, one Techniplast Slimline trolley, and rack. The room was then sterilized with
vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) prior to use. After VHP sterilization and prior to populating, items were ATP tested
for sterility using the Neogen AccuPoint Sanitation Verification System. Techniplast IVC cages were individually wrapped with either surgical drape or custom made zipper covers from Ancare, autoclaved and directly placed into the room. The
ability to maintain a germ-free environment post-study cohorts was confirmed by ATP testing in conjunction with RODAC
plates. Since no present studies have required a longer period, with 3 months being the current maximum however, we
suspect longer duration is possible with strict husbandry practices. In the end by utilizing IVC cages along with strict barrier procedures results in a more economical option for maintaining a gnotobiotic colony for those institutions who do not have
flexible film isolators.
Noninvasive Index of Left Ventricular Contractility in Mice Kanthi Reddy, CL Reddy, CP Heredia*, TT Pham*, AK Reddy*, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine*
Noninvasive measurement of cardiovascular parameters is critical in small animals contributing to refinement and reduction
in the number of animals used. The maximal derivative (+dP/dtmax) of left ventricular (LV) pressure measured invasively
using intravascular catheter is the gold standard in the assessment of LV contractility and is a terminal procedure in mice and other small animals. In humans and large animals mean acceleration derived from noninvasively measured aortic
outflow velocity was shown to be a good surrogate of left ventricular contractility. We conducted this study to evaluate this
noninvasive method using 20 MHz pulsed Doppler probe along with simultaneous measurements of left ventricular pressure
using an invasive pressure catheter in normal mice. Measurements were made at baseline and at several time intervals after a single intraperitoneal injection of dobutamine (1μg/g BW). Maximal dP/dt and peak aortic acceleration values were
calculated at several heart rates (range: 387 to 701 beats/minute) obtained from the 4 wildtype male mice (5 months old).
Linear regression of peak aortic acceleration (y) versus peak dP/dt (x) showed a high correlation between the two measurements (y = 2.8x + 1617; p<0.0001; r-square = 0.896; n=18 data points). The preliminary findings obtained from
this short study suggest that peak aortic acceleration may be used as a noninvasive index of LV contractility. We expect to
further evaluate this relationship between peak aortic acceleration and peak dP/dt under conditions of vasoconstriction and
vasodilation along with responses to positive and negative ionotropic agents to validate the potential use of this noninvasive index in mice and other small animals.
Rat Thunder Jacket- A Zen Experience Ryan Byrd, RLATG, Summer Boyd, MS, RVT, VTS-LAM(Deputy), RLATG, Cindy Buckmaster, PhD, RLATG, CMAR
Baylor College of Medicine
Germ Free rats are fairly uncommon, relative to germ free mice, and restraining these animals safely and effectively for compound administration and blood collection can be challenging. There are many commercially available varieties of
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restraint devices, but most of them are not optimal for use in isolators because they occupy a lot space and present puncture risks due to their rigid and bulky design. To address these challenges, a "sock" restraint system was developed for use during
compound administration (i.e., intraperitoneal (IP), subcutaneous (SQ), intranasal (IN), oral gavage (PO)) and blood
collection from the maxillary (facial) vein, common in germ free settings. The “sock” is compact, soft and easy to sterilize.
150 Fisher-344 rats of both sexes, ranging from 2 weeks to 12 months of age, were acclimated fairly quickly to “sock” restraint, enabling safe and efficient technical manipulations within germ free isolators.
Simplifying TECH Life Mark Goza, RLAT, EMT, Sydnee Woodman
Texas Tech University
Compassion fatigue: the “cost of caring” for animals in biomedical laboratories. Compassion fatigue is something all too familiar for laboratory animal technicians. They understand the importance of laboratory animal research and recognize this
field is accompanied with physical and emotional sacrifices. Technicians offer compassion and unparalleled care in the
form of daily husbandry tasks, health checks, providing medical treatment, social interaction, and enrichment to the animals used in a biomedical setting. They develop bonds with and grieve the loss of these animals. We rely heavily on the
technicians to be our eyes and ears for compliance, health, and animal welfare for our animal care program, adding to their
burden. We have numerous extensive protocols across a decentralized animal care system and have found it troublesome to locate specific procedures within a protocol or what the humane endpoints for a protocol may be. In order to reduce the
burden on the technicians and avoid wasting valuable time flipping through protocols and countless amendment forms, we
implemented protocol specific signage for approved animal procedures and humane endpoints in each animal holding room.
These signs contain the IACUC approved protocol number, bulleted approved procedures (i.e. - tail vein injections or submandibular bleeding) or humane endpoints for that protocol; these signs are located on the inside door of each of our
animal holding rooms. We have found that by implementing these quick reference signs, our technicians and animal care
staff have been able to catch noncompliance issues and ensure the welfare of the animals by determining when humane
endpoints have been reached in a timelier manner.
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2018 VENDOR ABSTRACTS
Ventilated Caging Maintenance: What you don’t know might actually hurt you, your animals and the research
Manny Dieguez, Brian Bilecki
Allentown, Inc.
The Individually Ventilated Cage (IVC) has been in use for many years and there are thousands of racks in use today. Unfortunately, maintenance is often overlooked or viewed as a nuisance and only grudgingly undertaken after an issue has
occurred that spurs people into action. This presentation will endeavor to explain what is involved in maintain the equipment,
especially the blower modules, while differentiating between HEPA filter certification and airflow performance testing. It will also discuss how poorly maintained IVC’s can negatively impact both the micro-environmental and
macroenvironmental conditions which can impact the animals, the research and the animal care technicians. To support the
concepts covered, real world examples collected over several years and many facilities will be shown. Learning objectives: What are the basic principles of operation of an IVC rack? What is HEPA certification and what role does this play in
servicing IVC’s? What key factors in IVC performance are impacted by a failure to maintain the IVC systems and what are
the telltale signs that something is amiss?
Eliminate the Bottleneck in Your Life Christine Giammaruti, BS
Transnetyx, Inc.
Breed. Biopsy. Wean. Genotype. REPEAT. So many animals! So little time! Not Enough Space! There is a bottleneck in
the process of breeding genetically modified animals caused by error prone manual methods of genotyping using qualitative rather than quantitative approaches to produce results. These errors have significant negative impacts to animal welfare and
research budgets, while slowing the timelines to scientific discoveries. Automated genotyping, utilizing quantitative
methods, produces far more accurate and reliable results thus eliminating the bottleneck by producing scientifically useful animals. Come see how the bottleneck can be removed, reducing non-scientifically useful animals from your facility and
improving animal welfare through the elimination of redundant and unnecessary tasks.
Advantages of Utilizing Animal Facility Software
Bryan Guider, BS a-tune Software, Inc.
How to manage critical data, history of data management, benefits of using animal facility software
Digitalization of the Vivarium
Richard Cluck, BS, LATG
Tecniplast USA, Inc.
Digital technology is multiplying the speed and accuracy of all the word's work processes and activities, and now those
advances are reshaping the research vivarium. This presentation will illustrate the effects of the digital vivarium revolution,
from room monitoring and control systems, to racks and individual cages - enabling researchers to automatically gather and interpret data while allowing facility managers to improve operational efficiency. The presentation will demonstrate the
value of technology-enabled animal facilities in research recruiting initiatives, illustrate how it promotes standardization,
improved research outcomes and efficiency in research and operations.
Canines in Biomedical Research: Laboratory Diets vs. Traditional Pet Food Diets
Kristin Robertson, MS
Purina LabDiet
The presentation will highlight differences between laboratory canine diets compared to pet food diets. I will review of
formulation, ingredients, nutrients, and forms/options between the two industries. There will be an opportunities for
audience engagement and questions.
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Challenges with Cleaning Validation Kim Metzler
Sanitation Strategies
Cleaning validation, are you doing enough to protect the integrity of your research? Regular and frequent monitoring of environmental conditions are strongly recommended. This monitoring could detect deviations in a timely manner and allow
for immediate adjustments to keep your studies from being compromised. A compromised study can be extremely costly.
Are you confident in your current program? Also discussions on RODAC plates and ATP testing, the benefits and concerns
of both and outline what a comprehensive program should look like.
Impact of Extrusion on Bioburden in Laboratory Animal Diets Laura Tracey, MS
PMI Nutrition International LabDiet®
Extrusion has been the manufacturing method of choice for diet for many species in biomedical research including non-human primates, cats, and dogs. Originally extrusion was used mostly for digestion benefits of these species; however, over
the last decade extruded products have become increasingly popular choices for other species (rodents) for other reasons.
Reduction of bioburden is one sometimes purported advantages of extrusion over pelleting based around the fact that the
extrusion process involves steam and temperature levels great enough to kill many micro-organisms. This talk will discuss the steps of the extrusion process including common temperatures reached, time at those temperatures. Also discussed will
be steps post extrusion which may impact the overall microbial load on the finished product. This information may be used
to determine if using extruded product without irradiation might be an appropriate option for your facility.
Performance Based Solutions for Sustainable Animal Drinking Water, Filtration, Treatment, and Monitoring Manville Michael, BS, Al Carlile, Rick Deitrich
SE Lab Group
With regards to animal drinking water, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals states that “The selection of water treatments should be carefully considered because many forms of water treatment have the potential to cause
physiologic alterations, reduction in water consumption, changes in micro-flora, or effects on experimental results.”
With this being said, we need to ask ourselves, “How has the Laboratory Animal Science industry responded to the NIH Guide recommendations and the wealth of information and data related to today’s problems and risks associated with water
treatment and distribution methods. This presentation will focus on the available system designs and new innovations that
address these issues and Improve the delivery of animal drinking water.
A second topic related to the NIH Guide’s recommendations will focus on automated water distribution system maintenance, 24/7 monitoring, drinking valve sanitation and service. Based on the location of the valve, either cage mounted or rack
manifold installed valves, sanitation frequency is limited and will affect valve performance. We will discuss effective
methods and best practices to insure optimum system performance and drinking valve reliability.
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2018 PLATFORM PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
denotes award eligible denotes first time presenter * denotes TBVME CEUs
*Enhancement of Cardiovascular Research Models Jennifer Smith, DVM, DACLAM
American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Henry Ford Health System
It is estimated that 5 million Americans are affected with heart failure and half will go on to die from the disease. The syndrome of heart failure is associated with multiple pathophysiological alterations and adaptations, often studied in large
animal species including canines. Animal welfare regulations stress the importance of psychological well-being of these
research animals and one way to ensure compliance and animal welfare is through the adaptation of a species specific enrichment program and modern surgical, anesthesia and analgesia protocols. In addition, model enhancements such as
the six-minute walk test (6MWT) have become a safe and reliable predictor of morbidity and mortality in human patients
with heart failure, and a predictive measure of canine quality of life and well-being in veterinary medicine. This session will provide essential material necessary for the development and management of cardiovascular research programs,
including essential care and enrichment to ensure animal welfare.
Flirting with Disaster – Making the Best of Planning for the Worst Mary MacCallum, LATG, CMAR
Texas A&M University
Natural disasters and emergency situations can appear suddenly and cause disruption to work and personal lives. You can use the concepts developed at work for your personal emergency plan and give yourself some peace of mind. This
presentation will help you make a plan and discuss the plan with family and friends. The plan should include what to do
with pet, evacuation plans, insurance coverage, communications with loved ones, and financial readiness. Strength doesn't come from what you can do, it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't.
You can blow my house down, but you can’t have my food: Food aggression and dominance in laboratory pigs
Jacob Moore, BS, RLAT University of Texas Health Science Center- Houston
Pigs are a vital part of many research programs. They are also social beings that are usually required to be socially housed unless justification calls for single housing. Like many social species, pigs form social hierarchies and exhibit dominance
behaviors accordingly. So, what do you do when your socially housed pigs express food aggression and dominance
behaviors? Do you single house them? Do you feed them separately? What works and what doesn't work to curb food aggression and dominance behaviors in laboratory pigs? This presentation will discuss the techniques and tricks Animal
Technicians, Veterinary Technicians, and Veterinarians at the University Of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
tested and implemented to combat food aggression and dominance behaviors to maintain social housing in their pig
colony.
Housing Guinea Pigs in an Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL-3) Facility
Lara Sims, BS, LATG
UT Southwestern Medical Center University of Houston
UT Southwestern Medical Center has a very diverse program, housing animals in various biosafety levels, from ABSL-1 to
ABSL-3. The majority of the animals are handled at an ABSL-1 and ABSL-2 level, but the program has a small number of cages on campus that are housed in an ABSL-3 area. ABSL-3 housing is necessary for work with laboratory animals infected
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with indigenous or exotic agents that present a potential risk for aerosol transmission and that cause serious or potentially lethal disease.
The research being conducted in the ABSL-3 suite involves various studies with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). MTB
is a bacterium that causes the disease tuberculosis. Tuberculosis (TB) is transmitted through aerosolization and thus strict procedures are followed and precautions are taken to limit the possibility of exposure, as TB disease can be fatal. Previously,
only mice have been housed within the ABSL-3 area and specific Standard Operating Procedures and processes had been
established for all animal health, husbandry and cleaning processes.
This past year, the management team was tasked with introducing guinea pigs into the ABSL-3 animal holding area for
aerosol exposure studies. This provided new challenges to the animal husbandry team to determine how to house and maintain containment of these animals and potential agent under ABSL-3 conditions. This presentation will discuss the
steps that were taken to develop procedures and processes for this species and what considerations were taken for adding a
USDA covered species to a highly restrictive containment area. Some of the challenges that we had to find answers for
included how to house the animals and conduct the necessary cage changes with the larger equipment following ABSL-3 practices. How could we provide adequate enrichment for the animals? As part of the experiment, the animals are housed
for up to 24 hours in a chamber without the traditional feed and water supplies, and we had to devise methods to provide
provisions for the animals during this time. There were also concerns about the way to disinfect items between uses on various animals. In addition we were required to develop a method to easily identify those animals that had been infected
versus those that had not. This presentation will cover the methods we used to house and care for the guinea pigs and the
methods we used to come up with our solutions.
*Creating a culture of continuous improvement, one process at a time
Nicolé Monts de Oca, DVM, DACLAM, Karen Guerra, MBA, CMAR, RLATG Charles River RM Houston
As part of a global initiative to create a culture of continuous improvement, the Charles River Houston site set out on a quest to identify processes that could be evaluated and made more efficient. Considering the CRL RM Houston facility is a
CDC quarantine import/export facility for nonhuman primates, we decided to start by examining one of the key processes
at our facility: receiving imports. Upon initial evaluation, we observed that the amount of time it took to receive imports was variable, ranging from 10-14 hours, the receiving teams spent a significant amount of time searching for the necessary
tools and supplies, and that there was variation in each team’s performance of the individual SOP steps. Therefore, we
assembled a team and utilized a lean six sigma approach focusing on the use of the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-
Control (DMAIC) improvement cycle to evaluate and restructure our process. The result was a 40% decrease in the amount of time it took to receive an import making staff available for other critical tasks, reduction in overtime, and reduction in
overall fatigue associated with completing a physically demanding task. This presentation will provide a detailed description
of the analysis conducted and the lean six sigma tools used in this process.
Leadership Development
Christopher Southern, RLATG, ILAM, CMAR
Baylor College of Medicine
At Baylor College of Medicine, more often than not, we promote internally for our group leader/supervisory positions. This
works well for us as we have individuals that know exactly how our program runs, however they require some fine-tuning when it comes to their leadership skills. Within this session the audience will learn how we run our internal leadership
development program. I will share what has worked and what has not worked throughout the years. The audience will have
the opportunity to participate in exercises to include scenarios surrounding four skillsets that we focus on developing:
Communication, Team Building, Time Management and Professionalism. Ideas from a variety of institutions will be shared, through the audience, and participants will leave with a basic foundation of how to create a leadership developmental
program for their institution.
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What’s happening in diabetes research? How can we spread the word? Pat Sikes, MS
Charles River Labs/AALAS Foundation
The “Celebrate the Mouse” program is a public outreach effort, developed by the AALAS Foundation, to help educate the public about the important role mice and other animals, play in discovering treatment options and cures for catastrophic
diseases.
The goal of the program is to serve as a tool to help members of the laboratory animal science community reach out to their local communities – persuading survivors of catastrophic diseases, and the general public, to embrace and become advocates
of biomedical research.
Diabetes is a prevalent disease. Mice are helping us:
• Discover drugs to help treat diabetes, such as Farxiga, Invokana, Jardiance for Type 2 diabetes
• Uncover the potential to prevent diabetes thru proper diet by studying diet-induced obesity mouse models
• Discover the potential of reversing diabetes by growing mouse pancreas cells in rats, then transplanting into mice • Better understand type 1 and type 2 diabetes by studying genetically modified mouse models.
*Homes for Animal Heroes- Texas Division Anita Richert, DVM, Patti Strand, Cindy Buckmaster, PhD, CMAR, RLTAG
Homes for Animal Heroes
Homes for Animal Heroes (HAH) is a brand new rehoming program for retired research dogs created to honor the animals and people in biomedical research. It is an initiative of the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA), an organization that
shares the truth about all animal welfare issues. Co-founders Patti Strand and Cindy Buckmaster designed the program to
keep the dogs’ institutions of origin anonymous allowing us to talk openly with the public about the amazing work our dogs have done. It is with great pleasure that we are able to give back to these animals who have given us so much with loving,
permanent retirement homes where they are treated as the heroes they truly are. The Texas Division of HAH currently works
with two colonies of dogs, a Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy colony and a genetic kidney disease colony. These incredible
dogs are placed in foster homes to help transition them to their forever homes. Come here about our program and how we are connecting with families affected by the disease our dogs are working to cure.
The Importance of Education: The UT Southwestern Medical Center Outreach Team Julie Roller, BS, MS, CMAR
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Over the last few years, there has been a tremendous push in the laboratory animal science community to dedicate time and energy to further educate the public regarding the use of animals in research through outreach activities. The importance of
changing peoples’ mindset cannot be denied, with animal activist groups hard at work to continue to provide the public with
inaccurate information. Last year, the UT Southwestern Medical Center Animal Resource Center start an Outreach Group. An initial presentation was given at the TBAALAS conference in 2017, but our group was still in its infancy. Our Outreach
Team has grown and evolved over the last year, and the group has had many new and exciting opportunities to plug into the
Dallas community through the school systems.
Because outreach is still continuing to have such a strong focus in our industry, we wanted to give an update on the progress
in developing our outreach program. This will include how our group has grown and changed, what activities we have been
participating in, and some lessons learned. Our goal is to share our experiences with others, and assist those looking to start an outreach group at their institution, providing useful information and tops that may assist in establishing an effective
program.
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Going from 7 to 14 day cage change intervals. It’s not as easy as it sounds. John Donaho, BS, CMAR
University of Texas at Houston
The introduction of individually ventilated caging systems (IVC) provided a theoretical ability to extend cage change intervals from the standard twice a week schedule to two weeks or more. UT-Houston has used a seven day change schedule
since adopting IVC caging systems fifteen years ago. As the mouse population at UTH grew over the past few years, the
number of technicians available did not increase to meet demand. A sudden spike in mouse users forced a solution without increasing staff numbers. To meet that challenge a study was done to test the practical capabilities of the IVC system to
extend cage changing intervals to ten days or more. A study was designed and a protocol proposal was submitted and
approved by the IACUC. The study was completed successfully and the change implemented in June 2017. We will look at the steps necessary to create a study, to make major changes in operating procedures and the response from our mouse users.
Public Outreach: The Why and How
Keely McGrew, BS, CVT, RLATG, CMAR Charles River
Animal rights groups have seen some successes in the past several years with the folding of circuses, lower attendance at marine mammal parks, and discontinuation of animal research programs or studies at institutions worldwide. Public
acceptance of the use of animals in research in the US has dropped from 65% in 2001 to 51% in 2017. The shift in attitudes
is primarily seen in those younger than 50, which gives greater importance to engage with this age group. In order to protect
the benefits of biomedical research, those who have direct involvement can help promote the benefits of this important work by engaging with students and young adults. By demonstrating the care that is given to the animals involved, showing what
it is like in the laboratory through virtual vivarium tours via the AMP website, and explaining regulations and advances in
the area of 3Rs to young audiences, researchers can reframe the narrative for students and potentially spark interest in careers in science. The steps to starting a public outreach program include determining the audience and objective, establishing
contact, setting up an appointment, compiling information and supplies, preparing a presentation, delivery, and evaluation
of results. The intention of this effort is to establish a path within Texas Branch AALAS that can be followed by others
interested in public outreach efforts.
The Most Important Animal in the Lab- The Human
Ann Turner, PhD, CAE, FASAE AALAS
Certainly, advancing biomedical research as well as toxicological research through responsible laboratory animal care and
use is the goal of the programs and facilities in our field. The welfare and care of laboratory animals is the focus of many educational programs and publications in the laboratory animal science field. This presentation emphasizes the welfare and
care of the people who take care of the animals. The challenges and rewards of working in biomedical research will be
presented as well as approaches for both the employee and the supervisors to consider in making the work experience successful. Incorporating principles from psychology and organizational development, practical strategies for staff
development, self-motivation and staff reward systems will be discussed. Resources for staff development will be presented
and discussed.
*Edema and Abdominal Distension in an Owl Monkey (Aotus nancymaae)
Rebecca Welch, DVM, AG Brady, GK Wilderson, CR Abee
Baylor College of Medicine
An abdominal mass was palpated during a routine physical exam of an 11-year-old female owl monkey (Aotus nancymaae).
The owl monkey was clinically normal at the time of exam. Three days later abdominal ultrasound was performed but no
mass was identified. Facial edema and abdominal distension were observed four days after ultrasound, which became worse the following day. During this time the owl monkey continued to be active and had a good appetite. Bloodwork revealed
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severe hypoproteinemia and moderate leukopenia and anemia. Renal disease was suspected due to edema and ascites, anemia, and hypoproteinemia. However, the following day urinalysis was performed and results were within normal range.
Abdominal radiographs were also taken, confirming presence of an abdominal mass. Two days later, the owl monkey’s
condition remained unchanged and the decision was made to euthanize due to poor prognosis. On necropsy, the abdominal
distention was discovered to be fluid and fecal material within the intestines. Mild-to-moderate subcutaneous edema was present at the cranial abdomen, neck, and throat. A circumferential mass was present at the aborad-most aspect of the small
intestinal dilation and severe, generalized mesenteric lymphadenomegaly was also present. Histologically, neoplastic
epithelium extended over the mucosal surface and deep into the muscularis layer and effaced the mesenteric lymph node. A diagnosis of intestinal adenocarcinoma with secondary duodenal and jejunal dilation was made, with metastasis to
mesenteric lymph nodes. The unusual presentation of gastric adenocarcinoma in this case demonstrates the need for careful
workup of non-specific clinical signs in geriatric animals.
*Zebrafish: the Difference is in the Details
Joseph Mat Schech, DVM, DACLAM, DACVPM
National Institutes of Child Health & Human Development
The use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) is on the rise in biomedical research. Many animal programs find it a challenge to adapt
from the rodent mindset to that of an aquatic model. Care for zebrafish differs in important ways but the principles of humane care, species-appropriate environment and adequate veterinary care are the same. Appropriate and humane care of
zebrafish requires an understanding needs of aquatic species. Zebrafish systems are scalable depending on the size of the
program. ACUCs that review ASPs and animal facilities need to understand the differences in an aquatic facility
compared to a rodent facility. Due to their popularity, guidelines and standards for zebrafish have been emerging over the last few years as their use grows. ACUCs applying these standards should understand the intent and limitations of these
guidelines. As with any species, what is appropriate depends on the welfare of the animal the scientific need of the study.
How a zebrafish program is managed and monitored may be different depending on size, scientific need and the availability of experienced staff.
Keynote Speaker: Come See Our World: Improving Animal Research’s Image
Paula Clifford, MLA, CVT, RLATG Americans for Medical Progress
Public trust is a vital quality that must be earned by new facilities and established ones alike. With such trust comes community support and a more secure environment.
A current and authentic representation of animal-based research helps citizens – be they elected officials, journalists or
school children – to better understand how research is actually conducted and how well the animals are treated. We need
to “open our world” through dialog and new pictures and videos depicting the welfare of research animals. But all too often, research institutions prohibit or severely restrict the release of images of laboratory animals, their
housing and their care. This gives a platform for animal-rights activists to orchestrate one-sided verbal attacks against
animal-based research, filled with outdated or manipulated images of research. Public appreciation of the necessity and humane nature of animal-based research is possible, but we as a community must
offer a more focused and transparent view of our world as we know it. It is crucial that up-to-date and accurate images of
animal-based research be made available if we wish to break the chokehold activists have on public opinion.
This presentation will take a look at what research institutions and advocates in the U.S. can do individually and/or collectively to ensure that their study and care of research animals is appropriately represented to the public.
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*Unique Canine Disease Model at Texas A&M University: Unraveling the Intricacies in Managing a Duchenne
Muscular Dystrophy Canine Colony
Whitney Kiehl, DVM
Texas A&M University
Despite ongoing animal rights protest, the dog (Canis lupis familiaris) may still be one of the best models of disease in the
laboratory setting. One example is the golden retriever serving as an animal model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The
inheritance and phenotype are very similar to the human condition making it an ideal model for studying the pathogenesis and potential treatments for the disease. Due to the progression of the disease in the dog, special husbandry and management
practices are required. Years of ongoing research has now led to breakthroughs and gene therapy currently in human clinical
trials. This discussion will concentrate on the unique husbandry and care requirements for these animals.
*Quality of Life Assessments for Captive Nonhuman Primates
Elizabeth Magden, DVM, MS, DACLAM, SP Lambeth, SJ Schapiro, GK Wilkerson
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Striving to provide the best “Quality of Life” for nonhuman primates housed within breeding/research facilities through
enrichment and the promotion of species-typical behavior is the ethical and moral responsibility of the people overseeing the care of these animals. Our goal is always to minimize and/or eliminate suffering. Many research primates will spend
their entire lives in these facilities and, with that, some will eventually be diagnosed with terminal diseases and/or
chronically debilitating conditions that are common to aged primates. In efforts to maximize the quality of life of any
diseased/debilitated animals we have developed Quality of Life (QOL) Committees composed of a team of people whose perspectives on animal health combine to give us the best overall picture on an individual animal’s welfare. The QOL team
is formed when an animal is diagnosed with a debilitating chronic illness or terminal condition. The team is composed of a
veterinarian, behaviorist, animal trainer, colony manager, pathologist, veterinary technologist, and care staff members who work with the animals daily. Together the QOL team develops of specific set of behavioral guidelines to add to the clinical
data to define unique characteristics of individual animals. The information gained guides the veterinarian in their decision
on end of life issues, to minimize any pain or distress and maximize the quality of life of the animals under our care.
*Poxvirus infection in a colony of laboratory pigeons (Columba livia)
Brianne Hibl, DVM, Becky Blackwood, DVM, DACLAM, Dalis Collins, DVM, DACLAM, Roger Price, DVM, DACVP
Baylor College of Medicine
Pigeons (Columba livia) are utilized in biomedical research for the studies of vision, cognition, neuronal pathways, and
spatial orientation. There is no common laboratory source for pigeons, thus research pigeons are typically acquired from
local fancier breeders and/or bred on-site. For acquired pigeons the health and vaccine status is often unknown. On July 6, 2017 a juvenile pigeon, born onsite and living in an enclosed outdoor loft, presented with small, bleeding, wart-like lesions
on the medial aspects of digits one and four. Topical treatment was initiated. Within a week, four fledglings were reported
for small, dark papular lesions to the face, head, neck, and/or beak. Shortly thereafter, two additional juvenile pigeons developed mild lesions. The fledglings were euthanized, and histological examination revealed numerous intralesional
eosinophilic cytoplasmic viral inclusions (Bollinger bodies) confirming a diagnosis of poxvirus, likely pigeon pox. Though
usually self-limiting, pigeon pox can cause moderate to severe lesions in fledgling and juvenile birds. Vaccination with a
modified live poxvirus labeled for chickens is available, and was used to create herd immunity to pigeon poxvirus. Since vaccination of our entire flock and implementation of more stringent health protocols, all lesions have resolved, and no new
lesions have been noted.
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Colonization Strategies: Ideas for Recruiting Staff Raising Rodents in a new Gnotobiotic Facility Stephanie Fowler, PhD, MA, RLATG
Baylor College of Medicine
Two of the greatest challenges related to establishing a new gnotobiotic facility are acquiring adequately trained staff members and producing germ-free animals at a rate that keeps up with investigator demand. With the recent explosion in
the number of gnotobiotic facilities throughout the US, recruiting qualified, experienced staff members has become a
difficult task. To address this need, we have developed a training plan to identify talented lower-level employees currently working within our animal care program and provide a career ladder for them to ascend up through our traditionally
housed rodent facilities and into our gnotobiotic facility operations. Concurrently, we have adapted many of our
established breeding and colony management SOPs to translate from a traditionally housed barrier facility into a germ free setting. Together these practices helped us build a team of qualified individuals who are able to efficiently manage our rat
and mouse breeding colonies and conduct all of the technical procedures and manipulations necessary for investigator
studies.
*Patient Derived Xenograft Model Development and Biosafety
Vanessa Jensen, DVM, DACLAM
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
There has been an increase in the research environment to develop and characterize patient derived xenograft (PDX) models
for cancer research. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s Bloodborne Pathogen standards were developed
to protect employees who work in occupations involving exposure to blood or other potential infectious material. However, the standards require employers to develop documents to protect the health and safety of the workers. PDX models involve
the use of animals as the receiving entity of various patient samples. This discussion will briefly describe the creation of
patient derived xenografts, risk assessment and housing level for such animals.
My Experience at recent National AALAS meeting in Austin as the Lab Products Animal Technician Recipient
Jennifer Teague, ALAT
UT Southwestern Medical Center
The experience of attending national AALAS is beneficial for animal care staff, veterinary and laboratory technical staff
for many reasons. The primary benefit is being able to learn more in depth details about topics that are relevant to your animal care program or to learn alternative approaches for solving issues in your animal care program. In addition, there
are individuals from other countries presenting information from their institutions which allows insight into the similarities
and differences between the North American and overseas facilities. As the winner of the 14th Annual Lab Products Animal
technician Award, I will be sharing my recent experience at the national AALAS meeting and describing details of why it was beneficial for me and why this experience would be beneficial for animal care and technical staff in laboratory animal
facilities.
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Participant Name:
CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE Awarded To:
State(s) of Licensure:
Type & License #(s): _________________
TOTAL HOURS OBTAINED:
For Attending:
Texas Branch American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Conference “Behind The Cure The True Heroes”
College Station, Texas February 7-9, 2018
Presented By:
Texas Branch American Association for Laboratory Animal Science I certify that I have attended the session(s) indicated, of which 3.25 hours of continuing education credit are
approved by TBVME.
Participant’s Signature:
Authorized By:
Provider’s Signature:
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This year TBAALAS was one of the
recipients for the Experience Bryan College
Station HOT Grant. Thank you to the
following contributors!