SEAALAS NEWSLETTER · SEAALAS Newsletter, 2008, Page 2 President: Dean Blake President Elect: Mark Sharpless Past President: Chris Carter Secretary: Kim Benjamin Treasurer: Terri

SEAALAS Newsletter, 2008, Page 1

SEAALAS NEWSLETTER ADVANCING THE POSSIBILITIES

Volume 39, Issue 9 June 2008

Inside This Edition Tech Tips……………………………………………….….8 Call for Nominations……………………………..…11, 12 NIH Loses FOIA Case to In Defense of Animals…..13 “PAM” The Latest “Buzz Acronym”………………....14 SEAALAS 2009 Meeting………………………………..15 Executive Board Meeting Minutes……………….18-21 Meet The Tech…………………………………………...22 Calendar of Events……………………………………..24 Institutional News…………………………………..26-33 Just for Fun………………………………………..…….34 Job Opportunities……………………………………...35

SEAALAS To Host The 2010 National AALAS Meeting in Atlanta!!

(Planning details pg. 18)

Congratulations! SEAALAS Member

Michael Swindle DVM Awarded “Comparative

Medicine Scientist Award” from ACLAM!

SEAALAS 2009 Athens Georgia

(Details pg. 14)


President: Dean Blake President Elect: Mark Sharpless Past President: Chris Carter Secretary: Kim Benjamin Treasurer: Terri McCurley

2008 Directors Marsha Howard

Michael O’Connor Charlotte Joyner

Michael Hart

Executive Director Robin Kavanaugh

2008 Committee Chairs Awards Andrea Gibson

Commercial Liasion Lori Boyd

Communications Sandy Williams

Legislation Mary Beran

Nomination and election Lisa Wilson

Program 2008

Amy Phillips

TBR Peg Rentz

Webmaster Chris Carter

2008 SEAALAS OFFICERS


Spring, Summer SEAALAS Presidents Letter

I would like to commend the mentoring work of SE/AALAS committee chairs. Everyone has stepped up to the plate and answered my call to recruit a member to serve for the first time on a committee: Nominations/ Elections Chair, Lisa Wilson, is mentoring Allison Liljedalh, and Mana Shafaei; Legislation Chair, Mary Beran, is mentoring Matthew Davis; Program Chair and newlywed, Amy Phillips (congratulations Amy), is mentoring Lauren Luken; Awards Chair, Andrea Gibson, is mentoring Koya Alford, Tracy Dyson, Viki Ellis and Matthew Davis (doing double duty); Communications Chair, Sandy Williams has answered the call by mentoring Jessica McLaughlin, who has served on last years Program Committee. Jessica will assist the tremendous undertaking of our quarterly newsletter and serve as Communications Chair in 2009. Our other committee chairs, TBR, Webmaster and the Commercial Liaison work autonomously; but those of you interested in these positions, please contact Peg Rentz, Chris Carter and Lorie Boyd respectively, and they will point you in the right direction. Please take the time to recognize and assist these people who make our organization a success. The door is always open if anyone is interested in serving on any of our committees in the future by contacting the President, Committee Chair or any board member directly. In addition to our new supportive mentoring program, we are excited to announce the Boards approval of a Local Arrangements Committee Chair position in preparation for the 2010 National Meeting. Kim Benjamin has accepted this awesome task of organizing our events locally. Thank you Kim and thanks to everyone for all your hard work!!! Please enjoy the remainder of our wonderful Newsletter. Thank you, Dean Blake Georgia State University SE/AALAS President

Spring is here and everything is blossoming wonderfully. And like the teamwork of nature, SE/AALAS is working diligently to make our future brighter. The Executive Board has met twice, thus far, with plans to meet two additional times before the year ends. We are brainstorm-ing and planning for the 2010 National AALAS Meeting which will be held in Atlanta Georgia.


www.seaalas.org

www.aalas.org http://www.azaalas.org/

www.aaalac.org

From the Editor At last, Summer is just around the corner! I planted a garden this Spring and I look forward to watching it grow. Speaking of planting seeds, AALAS has recently formed a unique committee to plant a few seeds of their own and I encourage you to become involved! It’s called the “AALAS Vet Tech ad hoc Committee” and their goal is to recruit credentialed veterinary technicians into the laboratory animal field. The committee formed a “Vet Tech Speakers’ Bureau,” this is a service provided by AALAS that arranges for speakers to attend class sessions in veterinary technician programs across the country to discuss the role VT’s play in biomedical research and to share with students the many opportunities available in research. To learn more go to http://www.aalas.org/headlines/index.asp?cmd=view&articleid=95 I’d like to thank Jessica McLaughlin with The Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah Georgia for accepting the 2009 position as the SEAALAS Communications Committee Chair and newsletter Editor! Jessica’s creativity, talent, and organizational skills were revealed while serving on the SEAALAS program committee in 2007. Thank you Jessica and congratulations on passing your LAT!! Everyone have a happy and safe summer! —Sandy Williams RVT, LATG SEAALAS Communications Chair Atlanta VA Medical Center [email protected]

SEAALAS Annual Meeting January 2009 Athens Georgia





Tech Tip for those who work with baby ferrets! When the time for weaning has come, its necessary to expose the ferret kits to a mush and then to regular dry food. We've found using "mexican hats" for the mush works really well. The "mexican hats" are the lids to commercially available margarita salt containers. They have a low rim and a raised center, preventing the kits from immersing themselves completely, but allowing them easy access to the mush! We REALLY like them here! Submitted by: Matt Davis Georgia State University

Tech Tips

Do you have a tip that makes your job easier or benefits the health or well being of a Laboratory Animal?

Submit your Tech Tip today to: [email protected]




Committee News

SEAALAS 2008 Nominations/Elections

Hi Everyone, Summer is always an exciting time of year, especially for those of us that serve on the Nominations/Elections Committee. It is time to nominate people to be your 2009 SEAALAS Board Members. The positions available this year are: President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, & two positions for, Board of Director. If you or someone you know would like to serve on the SEAALAS board please submit the nomination by August 1, 2008. Please send your names to [email protected]

If you have never served on the SEAALAS board I strongly encourage you to do so this year. This is a great way to get involved, network, meet people, and make lasting friendships. I look forward to hearing from all of you with the plethora of nominations I expect to receive this year. Have a long and beautiful summer. Lisa Wilson, RLATG SEAALAS Nominations/Elections Committee Chair University of Georgia


Committee News

AND THE WINNER IS……… ……IT COULD

BE YOU!!!!!!!!!! Nominate a member of your facility for one of 6 awards.

☻Technician of The Year Award ☻Sally Newell Papp Award ☻Purina Prolab Award ☻Linda Hazel Memorial Award ☻Clinton Smith Scholarship Award ☻Certificates of Recognition for Teaching AALAS

Certification Classes SHOW YOUR STAFF THAT YOU CARE!!!!

The Deadline for submitting your nominations is October 1, 2008 You can find more details about all the awards @

www.SEAALAS.ORG


NIH Loses FOIA Case to In Defense of Animals

On April 14, 2008, a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Columbia ordered the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to release, among other things, the floor plans, wiring diagrams and specific locations of individual animals at the Alamogordo Primate Facil-ity, to In Defense of Animals. The case (In Defense of Animals v. National Institutes of Health, Civ. Action No. 04-1571), was filed as a result of NIH withholding several documents that were part of a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). NIH had argued that “release of the information will cause unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of the animal care workers.” It continued, “Animal care workers at this and other facilities have received specific and detailed threats to their safety. Individuals with intent to harm animal care workers would be able to target the location with the greatest concentration of workers if this information is released.” The court rejected this argument because the requested information is not associated with any particular individual. (source NABR)

New Federal Bill Would Prohibit

Invasive Research On Non-Human Primates

On April 17, the Human Society of the United States (HSUS) announced the introduction of The Great Ape Protection Act. The bill was introduced in the House by Representatives by Edolphus Towns (D-NY), David Reichert (R-WA), Jim Langevin (D-RI), and Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD). Co-sponsors include Bruce Braley (D-IA), Tom Allen (D-ME), John Campbell (R-CA) and Mary Bono Mack (R-CA). If passed, this bill would prohibit invasive research on any of the

following species of non-human primates: chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, orangutans or gibbons, held, used or bred for invasive research. Federal funding, transportation of and breeding of said species for such purposes would also be prohibited. For more information about this bill, please contact NABR's Matt Bailey (Source Total e-Clips). Mary M. Beran Compliance Officer Office of Research Compliance Georgia Institute of Technology

LEGISLATION COMMITTEE Committee News


Committee News

Summer is well on its way. I hope you have the ability to take time off to relax. This can be very difficult when working with animals. They depend on your daily attendance for their well being. Most research projects are on-going so no time is a good time to be away from work. However, it is essential for your well being to have the opportunity to get away, even if for just one day. You can return to work refreshed and ready to handle anything. The latest “Buzz Acronym” in this field is PAM. This stands for Post Approval Monitoring of Animal Use Proposals (AUPs). There is currently a lot of discussion on how to properly address this issue. Some of the more fortunate facilities have full time AUP Compliance Officers. It is their responsibility to be familiar with the proposals and to monitor the humane treatment of the animals as they are used. They will observe surgeries, post operative care, record keeping, dosing and handling animals just to name a few. With the multitude of regulations and guidelines impacting animal research, protocol compliance can only be achieved by a concerted institutional effort. Animal care technicians can play an essential role in PAM. Remember you are the eyes, ears and nose of the animal facility. Immediately report any new or unusual activity concerning the animals under your care. Have a happy and safe summer! Peg Rentz SEAALAS TBR University of South Carolina

SEAALAS TBR Report

If you would like to be the TBR contact for your facility or the next TBR please let me know. I need a volunteer from each facility to help distribute technician related

information and to encourage participants for the Technician Tips Session for the Annual SEAALAS

meeting. Please send me an e-mail [email protected] or give me a call at 803-777-8106.


Hello SEAALAS- First off, I have to admit that we aren’t as far along as we’d like to be, but thankfully all the silly distractions of the Program Chair getting married and going on a honeymoon cruise are over, and the now the Program committee can get down to business. We do have a spectacular site lined up in Athens to hold our annual meeting, that we are really excited about working with. Foundry Park Inn has buildings that date back to the 1800’s, is two blocks from the Athens downtown area and close to a number of Athens highlights. Feel free to take a look around the Foundry Park Inn website: http://www.foundryparkinn.com/ We are narrowing down our list of possible themes and topics, and the Committee would really love to hear from SEAALAS members what they’d like to hear about. This meeting is to serve the membership, so we want to be sure we’re talking about things you want to hear about! Email me at [email protected] with what you want to learn about, what you’re interested in, and even what you aren’t interested in, because that’s important too. Amy Dryman Program Committee Chair 2008 University of Georgia

PETA and HSUS Letters Continue to Circulate to Institutions

NABR continues to hear from members that they have received letters from PETA and HSUS. Currently, three

letters have been identified, and are as follows:

HSUS Chimpanzee Letter

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has recently sent letters and emails to institutions

requesting detailed information on the use of chimpanzees in research. The original form letter,

signed by Martin Stephens, vice president of animal research issues, as well as a follow-up e-mail

sent by Kathleen Conlee, director of program management for animal research issues, requests

answers to three specific questions including the following:

• Does your company use (or provide funding for the use of) chimpanzees for biomedical research or testing (e.g. efficacy, toxicity, pharmacokinetics, etc.)? • If your company does not use chimpanzees, do you have a written policy to this effect or does this simply reflect current practice? • If your company does use or fund such studies, are chimpanzees onsite or at an outside laboratory or both? A copy of the letter can be found here: http://www.nabr.org/members/HSUSLtr Chimps.pdf.

2008 Program Committee Committee News

NABR UPDATE

Newsweek Article on PETA’s Kill Policy http://www.newsweek.com/id/134549?GT1=43002


5th Annual Lab Products Animal Technician Award 2008

A laboratory animals best friend is a healthy, caring Animal Technician!

Lab Products, Inc. is pleased to announce the 5th Annual Lab Products Animal Technician Awards Program. This program is intended to reward deserving animal care technicians from each of the eight (8) AALAS Districts and Canada with the opportunity to attend their first National AALAS Meeting. One award recipient will be selected from each of the 8 AALAS Districts and Canada. The award will be limited to animal care personnel, with at least one year of laboratory animal care experience, that have never attended a National AALAS Meeting. The recipients of the Lab Products Animal Technician Award will each receive an award recognition plaque; airfare, hotel and registration for the National AALAS Meeting; one year membership to National AALAS and $250 to cover incidentals while attending the AALAS Meeting. Award Benefits: (participation, recognition, public speaking, and decision making). This award will:

Allow a deserving animal care worker from each of the 8 AALAS Districts and Canada to attend a National AALAS Meeting for the first time. Publicly recognize the recipient at a social function of the AALAS membership. Encourage the recipient to speak at a Branch Meeting on their experiences at AALAS, thereby allowing them to gain experience in public speaking and to promote the AALAS experience to other technicians. The recipient will serve as a member of the Lab Products Animal Technician Award Selection Committee for the next year. This will allow them the experience and involvement in a decision making process that will affect their peers.

Award Selection Committee:

Nominees for this year’s awards will be submitted to Lab Products, Inc. An Award Selection Committee will then consider all nominations and select one nominee from each of the 8 AALAS Districts and Canada to receive the award.

2007 Award recipients will form the Award Selection Committee for selection for the 2008 Award Recipients. Award Selection Criteria:

Nominee must have a minimum of 1 years work experience in a laboratory animal facility. Nominee must be a working supervisor, animal care worker or animal health technician. (Managers, Assistant Directors, etc. are not eligible). The nominee must be someone that actually performs hands on animal care work or works in the cage wash area. The nominee must be someone that would not be eligible for travel funds (from the University, Institution or Company) to

attend a National AALAS meeting. This award is intended to provide deserving animal care technicians with the opportunity to attend their first National AALAS

Meeting. Therefore, only nominees that have never attended a National AALAS Meeting will be eligible. Nomination Process: (Nominations must be RECEIVED BY June 16, 2008)

Nominations are to be submitted by letter, detailing the Technicians' work history, accomplishments, community involvement, and describing how this travel award will benefit the technician and their facility. AALAS/CALAS Branch membership, and involvement in branch AALAS/CALAS activities, will be considered in the award selection. Supporting letters are encouraged and will be considered, but are not required. Send nominations to:

Lab Products, Inc. P.O. Box 639 Seaford, DE 19973 Attn: Awards Selection Committee Ph. 800-526-0469 Fax 302-628-4309

Award recipients will be notified by August 1, 2008. Award Recipient Requirements:

After attending the National AALAS Meeting, the award recipients must present a paper at their next annual Branch or District AALAS/CALAS meeting on how the AALAS Meeting experience affected them. Award recipient agrees to attend the Lab Products, Inc., Tuesday night social during the National AALAS Meeting for a formal award presentation. Award recipient agrees to be a judge for the selection of the next years award recipients.

NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JUNE 16, 2008



Board News

Meeting was a conference call meeting based out of UGA. Present: Dean Blake (President), Chris Carter (Past-President), Mark Sharpless (President Elect), Robin Kavanaugh (Executive Director), Kim Benjamin (Secretary), Marsha Howard (Director), Michael Hart (Director), and Charlotte Joyner (Director), Terri McCurley (Treasurer) Meeting was called to order by Dean Blake at 10:38 am The first order of business was discussing the approval of minutes from the January Board Meeting. Robin explained that this was done via email and all board members can person-ally sign the minutes at our board meeting in November in Indianapolis. The Treasurer report was given by Terri McCurley. The SEAALAS checking account currently has a balance of $19,886.52. There is no Vanguard or Scholarship Fund account updates because the reports are sent quarterly and SEAALAS has not received one since the January Board meeting. Kim Benjamin stated that she has a receipt for food from the most recent 2010 AALAS Exploratory Meeting and she would be mailing that to Robin soon for reimbursement. No other discussion was made regarding the treasurer report and the members voted to approve the report. Dean gave a report on the SEAALAS committees. None of the committee chairs were present at the meeting but Dean gave a list of all of the members that he had so far.

Awards committee Chair - Andrea Gibson – Georgia Tech Koya Alford- Emory Tracy Dyson - MCG Matt Davis - Ga State Vickie Ellis - UGA Michael O’Connor – Lab Products Kim Benjamin stated that there are others on this committee. Dean will contact Andrea to get the full list of committee members. Communications Chair – Sandy Williams – VA Atlanta Chris Carter stated that he would do the newsletter in the future if necessary. Legislation Chair – Mary Beran – Georgia Tech John Duktig – Georgia State Matt Davis – Georgia State - mentored

Continued next page—->

Minutes from the SEAALAS Executive Board Meeting April 9, 2008 ( 1 of 4)


Board News

Nominations/Elections Chair – Lisa Wilson – UGA Allison Liljedahl Mona Shafaei – Harlan - mentored

TBR Chair – Peg Rentz – USC There was some discussion if Peg was going to continue to be the TBR this next year. Robin stated that Liz Stitch would be a good choice to be mentored by Peg this year to be the future TBR. Dean will contact Peg to find out her plans for the next 1-2 years and inform her about Liz being mentored. Program Chair – Amy Phillips - UGA Lauren Luken – UGA Vickie Ellis – UGA Lisa Wilson – UGA Steve Harvey - UGA Leanne Allworth - UGA Chris King - UGA Robin Kavanaugh - UGA Lorie Boyd – Commercial Liaison - CRL Website Chair – Chris Carter – UGA Chris stated that he is still behind with some of the website updates and upgrades due to some software issues. The Award winners and members have been added, the list serve has been set up and the generic email has been set up. Chris stated that he would like to find someone who can be mentored on the website to potentially help do regular updates.

There was no further discussion regarding the various committees and the board voted to approve the reported information.

Robin Kavanaugh gave the Executive Director report.

Membership The membership is very high so far this year and people have been very proactive at renewing and not waiting until the deadline. So far there are 316 people that have memberships which is well above where we normally are this time of the year. There are also 31 commercial vendors renewed with 52 people. This number should increase because all of our vendors have not renewed. There are also 8 institutional memberships that have renewed. Robin also stated that the annual SEAALAS Directory will be ready to go out in April. Continued next page->

Minutes from the SEAALAS Executive Board Meeting April 9, 2008 (2 of 4)


Board News

AALAS The deadline for the AALAS roster is May 1st and Robin will send this information in so SEAALAS can be a part of the Branch Challenge. May 1st is also the deadline for branches to submit their Technician of the Year to AALAS. This year’s winner is Marsha Howard and Robin needs to get a CV from her along with letters of recommendation prior to May 1st.

Financial Report SEAALAS has renewed the corporation status with Georgia. Dosu has finished paying off the money that was owed SEAALAS. In the end he actually overpaid SEAALAS $99.87. There was some discussion about whether or not we should pay him back the $99.87. It was voted that we would send him a check for this amount. Robin will draft a letter to Dosu stating that we have received all of the money that was owed and that this matter is finished. The letter will also state that he overpaid us by $99.87 and the check will be included. The letter will be sent to the board via email for approval and then sent to Dosu by certified mail. We are currently non-profit status but we are looking to become Tax Exempt with the Federal Govern-ment. Now that Doshu has finished paying off the money owed to SEAALAS, Robin will work on getting the process started.

There was no further discussion and all the board voted to approve the report.

The next item of business by Dean was discussing Old Business. 2009 SEAALAS Program report

The date for the 2009 SEAALAS meeting is tentatively set for January 21-23, 2009 in Athens. If it cannot be this week it will be February 4-6, 2009. The location of the meeting will either be at the Classic center in Athens or the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Athens. There will be a board meeting Wednesday afternoon and then a potential event planned afterward for all attendees. On Thursday there will be the Technician Tips, 2 hour dedicated Vendor time, speakers and the Awards Banquet. On Friday there will be speakers with or without Vendor time. There was discussion on whether we should have vendors set up on Friday and the program committee will discuss this with the Commercial Liaison. They are still working on the theme but right now they are looking at Infectious Diseases.

SOP’s Mark Sharpless sent out all of the SOP’s to the various board members for revision. Seven of the SOP’s had no changes and the board voted to approve this. There were eight other SOP’s that had minor changes. These were Communication, Executive Director, Nominations/Elections, President, President Elect, Secretary, TBR and Program Committee. The changes were discussed and the board members voted to approve these changes.

There was no other discussion and the board voted to approve all of the Old Business.

The next item on the agenda was discussing the New Business District 4 meeting update

Kim and Mark attended the District 4 meeting and Council meeting. The meeting attendance was really low and this was discussed at the Council meeting. The question was how attendance at the District 4 meetings can be increased and how can we increase branch support. Each branch was to go back and discuss this with their members and report back to the FAALAS who hosted the meeting. Several of the branches have Travel Scholarships and Kim made a suggestion that SEAALAS look into this. Some of the reasons that our institutions did not attend the meeting were due to: the time of year, it wasn’t promoted enough and too close to the SEAALAS meeting. Dean stated that if it were a summer meeting more people were likely to attend. Robin stated that this is always a discussion when the meeting is held in the smaller branches. Next year the meeting will be hosted by the Research Triangle Branch and the attendance should be higher. Continued next page—>



Board News

At the Board meeting, Kim brought up the fact that SEAALAS will be the host branch for the 2010 National meeting and could we get financial help from any of the other branches if needed? FAALAS and Appalachian Branch both stated that they would be of assistance. The only stipulation would be their branch logo is posted so they get some type of recognition. One member also stated that vendors could potentially give financial support for the banquet.

Annual Audit Report Chris Carter and Mark Sharpless got together on 2/12/08 and did the audit for this past year. The only issue was the check that was written to Maryanne Day for the Tech Tip Award. The bank still states that the check never was cashed but Maryanne said that she did cash the check shortly after receiving it. Ninety days has passed and the check could not be cashed if it was still outstanding. Enough time has passed and this issue will not be revisited in our upcoming Treasurer reports.

By-Law Discussion In the meeting agenda that was emailed out by Dean on April 8, 2008 there was a section for By-Law Discussion which was a typo. Dean meant to state SOP Discussion. In seeing this, Mark read over the By-Laws and noticed a few things that could be changed. The board agreed to discuss this at the next Board Meeting in July.

2010 National AALAS –Exploratory group report Dean Blake, John Duktig, Marsha Howard and Kim Benjamin have met twice to start the process of our branch hosting the 2010 AALAS Meeting. Kim went over some of the things that they have been discussing. Kim has spoken with Alice McVey from the Research Triangle Branch and she gave some great suggestions and lessons learned from the 2007 National AALAS meeting. Theme for the meeting We are looking at getting a theme that represents the city of Atlanta and Georgia for the Banquet and meeting pin.

Pin for the meeting Once the theme is set then we would like the SEAALAS members to come up with ideas for the pin. Then the board can assist in picking the final one. The pin would be given out at the 2009 National meeting in Denver, CO. Fundraisers money from the other District 4 branches Golf tournament to be headed up by Dean Blake. Lorie Boyd is over the annual Golf tournament for the Research Triangle Branch and will give Dean some help with planning this. We hope to get the first one the fall of 2008 and make this a yearly fundraiser. Local Arrangements Committee Chair This is the person that will be the liaison between AALAS and the local branch with planning and executing the meeting. Dean and Marsha made a motion that Kim Benjamin be voted in as the Local Arrangements Committee Chair for SEAALAS. The board members voted to approve this. Official 2010 planning committee Kim will get a committee of SEAALAS members to assist with the local arrangements for the meeting. Marsha Howard, John Duktig and Robin Kavanaugh will be part of this committee.

The next SEAALAS board meeting has been tentatively set for 9:30 on July 16, 2008. This will also be a conference call meeting set up at UGA.

No other business was discussed and the meeting was adjourned at 12:18pm by Dean Blake.



8. Do you have any pets? - 3 cats: Elliott, Tabatha, and Gracie. 1 dog: A Westie named Sophie. 9. What is the one thing that you must have in your Refrigerator? - Cheese 10. Last Book you read?

- A June Jordan book. 11. Who is the person that you admire most? - My father, Fred.

12. What was your first job? - Dominos Pizza as a driver. 13. What is your Favorite Television Show? - The Bang Theory 14. Something important life has taught you? - Listen and Learn

15. Favorite way to unwind? - To garden

16. CD playing in your car? - Harry Connick Jr.

17. Worst Habit? - Speeding

18. What is your favorite food? - Mexican, quesadillas 19. First thing you notice about someone? - Their eyes 20. If you had a free day what would you do? - Go fishing with my big brother. Marsha was awarded The SEAALAS “Technician of

the Year” for 2007! WAY TO GO MARSHA!

1. What area in the South East do you live?

- Atlanta, GA

2. Where were you born? - Barnsville, GA

3. Where do you work? - Emory University

4. What is your current job? - Assistant Operations Manager

5. What did you want to be when you were a child?

- A school teacher until I went to school as a child and realized that kids are bad! Then I wanted to be a Veterinarian.

6. What is the biggest challenge at work?? - To manage 4 very diverse and in creasingly complex animal facili ties.

7. Something that people don’t know about you? - I love vampires! (I’m a big Buffy fan) I’m also a bird watcher.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

By Deidre Wright RLAT

20 QUESTIONS WITH DEIDRE



SEAALAS BRANCH CALENDAR 2008 MARCH

15 – May JAALAS submission deadline

APRIL

1-- Deadline for Branch Membership renewals at discount rates and inclusion in Directory 1-4 LAMA Annual Meeting, Portland, OR www.lama-online.org 9- Executive Committee Conference Call Meeting 30 --Branch Membership Directory published

MAY 1 --Deadline to submit 2008 Membership Roster to AALAS 1-- Deadline for National AALAS awards nominations 11—Mothers Day 15-- Submission deadline, June Newsletter 15-- July JAALAS submission deadline 26—Memorial Day

JUNE 1--June Newsletter published 1--Call for Officer and BOD Nominations 20-21 LAMA-ATA Annual Meeting- Puerto Rico www.lama-online.org 30- Letter to solicit Award Nominations goes out

JULY 4—Independence Day 16 – Executive Committee Conference Call Meeting 15 -- September JAALAS submission deadline

AUGUST

1--Deadline for Officer and BOD Nominations 15-- Submission deadline, September Newsletter 15--Branch Election Ballots mailed

SEPTEMBER 1--September Newsletter published 3—Labor Day 15- November JAALAS submission deadline 30--Election Ballot Deadline

OCTOBER 1--Deadline for 2008 Branch Award Nominations a and Scholarship Applications 15--Election Results tabulated

NOVEMBER 4 --National Election Day 9-13 AALAS National Meeting, Indianapolis, IN 11 – Executive Committee Meeting at National AALAS 11 – Veterans Day 15 -- Submission deadline, December Newsletter 22 – Thanksgiving Day

DECEMBER 1--December Newsletter published 1--New Officers announced 15--Membership renewal letters sent 25 -- Christmas



This spring has been a very busy time for us all here at DLAR. During the first week of March we had our site visit from AAALAC. During our exit interview the site visitors indicated that they were going to recommend Continued Full Accreditation for the eighth time in a row! We have opened our Animal Imaging Facility to offer bioluminescence, fluorescence, and micro-ct imaging. We have a new faces to welcome to the DLAR staff here at MUSC. Latonya Jones has accepted the Agricultural Animal Assistant I position and will be working in the Hollings Cancer Center. Isaac Jenkins has also taken on an Agricultural Animal Assistant I position and will be working at the Basic Science Building. Welcome aboard! Technician of the Month Awards have been given to the following employees for their outstanding work: February- Tina Carden March- Katherine Bryant April- Lindsay Sharpe Congratulations to you all and keep up the good work. Dr. M. Michael Swindle, DVM received the Comparative Medicine Scientist Award from ACLAM at their annual forum. We wish farewell to Sam Ravanel who retires from DLAR after 13 years. Sarah Bingel, Associate Professor, leaves the department after being on staff for 18 years. Mary Strobel, Fiscal Tech II, will retire after 15 years. Even though we are sad that they will be leaving, we wish them all the best of luck in the future. Submitted by: Deidre Wright, RLAT The Medical University of South Carolina Department of Comparative Medicine SEAALAS Communications Committee

Institutional News


Greetings from Downtown Atlanta! Things here at Tech have been busy over the past couple of months. It is getting to the end of our Fiscal year and that with the end of the school year has made things a little crazy. Who knew spending some left over money could be so hard. J Back in April, Mark Sharpless gave my staff a wonderful tour of the Yerkes Field Station. We couldn’t take any pictures to prove it but I promise we were there. My group loved seeing the different species of Non-human primates and learning all about their different housing requirements. My favorite part was the babies! And since it is spring, there were lots of babies. I could just sit and watch their social interactions all day. One of the research-ers with the Chimps met up with us and gave us a lot of info about them. I always had this fear of being hit with Chimp poop and I was very happy that didn’t happen. Thanks again to Mark for taking time out of his day to give us the grand tour. Some really big news from our staff is that John Duncan got accepted into Vet School at UGA. John is one of the Laboratory Technicians here in the Animal Facility. He moved to Georgia from New York last May in hopes of getting into Vet School and he succeeded. We are all very proud of him and have some big shoes to fill on our staff. So you guys up at UGA please look out for him! We received a new species of Lizards here at Tech. We already had Sandfish and Zebra-tailed lizards but now we have Ocellated Skinks. They are really neat looking with the spots all over them. Their habitat is a little different from the other species, so we had to get some non-sand bedding. They stay above the sand a little more than the sandfish so I

can actually see them. We are looking at getting some snakes so I will definitely update you all on that one. Working in this field we get to watch animals have all types of things done to them as they are subjects in various studies. Well over the past month my staff has become “lab rats” themselves. Deborah Wolfe-Lopez and Vanessa Keel from Environmental Health and Safety have spent a few days watching our employees and doing some inhalation testing. Each person got hooked up with two devices that measure large and small dust particles. The data from the devices will show how much dust from bedding that they inhale. The size of the “dust” inhaled effects different parts of the lungs. They had to wear these all 8 hours of work (except bathroom breaks and lunch) and the ladies followed them

around all day taking notes. They also observed them for ergonomic issues that go along with cage change out, cage set up and cage wash. While they were here they also took a look around our facility and made notes of things that we need to do differently. Gotta love that input. J More labels will be put on bottles of disinfectant next week. We will have some Ergonomic training set up and I hope to do that on a yearly basis to keep us all

refreshed. Soon, we should find out the results from the “dust particle” tests and I will share this data with you all in the next newsletter. Ok, I think that is enough information for now! Have a great rest of the spring. Kim Benjamin Submitted by Kim Benjamin BS, LATG

Institutional News

Physiological Research Lab Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience

Andrea Gibson and Autumn Po


Hi SEAALAS!!! Things have been significantly busier here in Savannah since the last newsletter! The facility itself is doing well and fortunately I haven’t had any big issues lately, which gives me time to focus on other areas. Security has been an area in need of attention since I came to work here, and I have finally convinced the big bosses that we need a better way to keep our vivarium secure. I have been working with a biometric security company called Digitus Biometrics (http://www.digitus-biometrics.com/). The Digitus system has been used in the hospital to regulate access to radioactive materials and patient information for a few years now with great success. Vivarium installation of this system has been approved and in the next few weeks it will be installed. During the whole “pitch and sale” process, I have worked with one of the company’s directors, Claude Galipeault. Claude is super excited about this particular project because it will be the first animal facility to use their system. He is also very interested in the opportunity to customize the current system for use in lab animal settings. We plan to continue to collaborate after installation so that I can provide feedback about the system’s operation in a lab animal environment. Claude plans to join SEAALAS as a vendor and to attend the annual meeting in January. As far as the animals go, I finally got a small colony of 80 nude mice in back in March, and even though there weren’t many of them, I’ve had plenty to do since I am by myself most of the time. Most of the animals were used in a brain tumor study, and I got to sit in on some intracranial tumor implantation procedures. I thought the procedure was very interesting, and it was great to see some real experimentation in action! The colony did well with the exception of an unexpected hydration problem that I was able to solve pretty quickly (with the help of some of my wonderful SEAALAS friends). The studies ended about 2 weeks ago, and I only have 25 CD-1 mice for training purposes and 4 NuNu sentinels to take care of until another study begins. I expect the population to stay where it is until the beginning of June when I will be getting my first rats in. I got my new rat rack in last month, and I need to set it up and test it out before we start any rat studies. I also need to get used to handling them. I’ve never worked with rats, and I can’t wait to start! Rats seem to have a little more “personality” than the mice (not that the mice aren’t really cute), and I’m anxious to start gaining some practical knowledge about them. While things are slowing down in the facility, my professional development is gaining momentum. Back in March I took and passed my LAT exam, which was very exciting. I have recently been approved by AALAS to proceed with my LATG certification, and am scheduled to take the exam on July 11th. It looks like its going to be pretty tough, and I am sure I have plenty of studying ahead. I am also pleased to announce that I have been chosen to participate in the Jackson Lab’s Rodent Surgery Workshop in October. I am extremely excited an honored to have this opportunity, and I look forward to learning all kinds of cool surgical techniques! In addition to Kristin Garner and I, SEAALAS has a new member from Memorial. Kate Doyle was hired a few months back to act as a “Jill of all trades” for our lab. She is multi-talented, and has a huge variety of duties in the lab from tissue processing to glass ware wash. Part of her job is to help me out in the animal facility, and she has been learn-ing all about lab animal work. Kate will be working toward her ALAT certification and plans to take the certification exam as soon as she fulfills the experience requirements. She will also hopefully be joining me at the Athens meeting in January so that she can meet everyone.

Finally! Some pictures from Memorial! Sandy has been aggravating me to death to send in some pictures =), so I have attached one of Kate, Kristin, and I with our training colony of CD-1 mice, and another of us doing some injection practice. On a personal note, my husband and I will be leaving to go on a week-long cruise on May 17th. We have been booked since January and the days have been going by slower than molasses in the winter time!! I feel l ke it will never get here! I have vacation fever something terrible! We will be going to Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and the Bahamas. I can taste the mojitos and feel the sunshine already! I’ll definitely be sure to send in some fun pics for the next newsletter!

So …. Cheers until the next newsletter! Submitted by Jessica McLaughlin, RLAT

Institutional News


Groundbreaking/Open House

The Yerkes National Primate Research Center broke ground on the Clinical Veterinary Medicine Administration and Research Building (CVMAR) at its Lawrenceville field station April 5. Despite the rainy weather, more than 100 people attended the ceremony. The CVMAR will be the cornerstone for new programs that will use social colonies of genetically typed nonhuman primates to help researchers understand the interaction between genetics and environment and the roles they play in human health and disease. Additionally, local area students in a new county-sponsored Science and Technology High School will have the unique opportunity of carrying out their senior honors theses under the mentorship of Yerkes researchers using the cutting-edge genetics and behavioral labs in the CVMAR. Cage Wash The Yerkes Research Center’s field station in Lawrenceville also has a new cage wash facility. New Certifications Mengistu Truehne, Animal Care Technician I ALAT Legesse Enjamo, Animal Care Technician I ALAT Ryan Johnson, Animal Care Technician II ALAT Kelly Wilson, Office Manager ALAT Dinku Chifen, Animal Care Technician II ALAT Robert Sheffield, Animal Care Technician III ALAT Josh Scarbrough, Animal Care Technician III LAT Submitted by: Emily Rios

Yerkes Primate Center

Institutional News Yerkes Primate Center


News from UGA Animal Resources Life Sciences: Hi everyone! So far the year has been great! Some of our facilities are getting new temperature monitoring systems put in. If temperatures exceed the set/safe range, personnel are notified immediately. We should be up and running soon, so that we may continue to give our animals the best care that we can provide. The Animal Health Research Center (AHRC) is open for BSL3 and Ag-BSL3 work and receiving animals. We have had a calf study there already. This will be a wonderful addition to our facilities. Our staff now receives bonuses for achieving AALAS Certification! The bonuses are: ALAT -$250, LAT-$500, LATG-$750, CMAR-$1000. These will start going out now to those have already taken their test and then annually to whoever passes each test every year. Congratulations to Amy Phillips (now Dryman) who was married on April 20, 2008. Also Congratulations to Todd McDaniel on his new baby girl, Shelby Joan McDaniel born on May 19th a little past 3:00pm. She weighed in at 7lbs. 8oz., everyone is doing great! Last month we received the official news from AAALAC- full accreditation! Again a special thanks to everyone in making the facilities look great once again and in making sure the animals have the best care possible. Have fun everyone and enjoy what you do…. it is important!

Submitted by Terri McCurley

Institutional News


Colleen Oliver preparing for rat surgery

Hello everyone!

We are happy to report we received Full Continued Accreditation from AAALAC in April! The site visitors were very detailed and were easily able to identify our program strengths as well as offer suggestions for minor improvements. Some improvement suggestions were in water quality testing, improving methods for monitoring expired agents, and they felt we had places for vermin to hide in the voids under our sinks so they suggested we enhance our vermin monitoring. We are happy to report that we’ve vamped up our use of sticky traps combined with pest control personnel monitoring and we have not trapped anything, our water quality microbial testing results were ex-cellent, and our IACUC is working on a more stringent policy and monitoring of expired agents.

This month we welcome a new staff member Arthur Totten into our cage wash room, we are so happy to be fully staffed again! CONGRATULATIONS to Karriem Moultrie for PASSING HIS ALAT in March! Karriem has been with us for a year and a half and was placed into an animal care position last month and is now responsible for the care of our rabbit and rat colony. Larry Pope and Lisa Le-febvre continue their LAT study offered through Emory’s DAR each week and plan to take the LAT soon!

We have one investigator, one member of our investigator staff and one member of our animal facility staff (myself) submitting proposals for the 2008 Animal Welfare En-hancement Awards offered through John Hopkins Center for Alternative to Animal Testing. Additionally, our IACUC has formed an “Animal Enhancement” subcommittee to provide a forum for discussion, review proposals and stay abreast of funding for proposals geared toward refining animal procedures. I have volunteered to serve on the

committee and look forward to participating!

Have a great summer!

Submitted by Sandy Williams RVT, LATG

Atlanta VA Medical Center

Institutional News

Arthur Totten

Karriem Moultrie


Summer is here and we are bracing ourselves for the heat wave that blesses Columbia every year. The construction of our newest animal facility is coming along nicely. We recently celebrated Dr. Barlow’s one year anniversary by filling his office with 365 garnet, black and white balloons. USC Gamecock colors of course!

We are pleased to have Lorie Boyd with Charles River as our guest speaker for our quarterly technician training session. We are looking forward to her visit! In addition, we are planning a trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in June. Dr. Barlow and I will treat the technicians to grilled burgers and hot dogs and other assorted goodies. We will pick-nick by the river and then have a behind the scenes tour of the bear and big cat facilities. This should provide a much needed and well deserved break for our animal care staff! Submitted by Peg Rentz University of South Carolina

Institutional News


Hello SEAALAS! Well our largest facility is finally renovated! You can see pictures of it and also our newest facility below. We'd also like to congratulate Jesse Britt and Betty Chan for passing their ALAT exams. We'd also like to welcome Mr. John Duktig as GSU's IACUC Compliance Officer. He's really turned things around in our IACUC program. Our LAT class is up and running (we're already on Chapter 8) and we've added a few more teachers as well, getting Sarah Hunsburger and John Kelley out at the LRC involved as well. Speaking of the LRC, we're hip-deep in renovations there now, in preparation for AAALAC accreditation. Thats it for now! Submitted by: Matt Davis, BS, RALAT Georgia State University

Institutional News


Dear Dogs and Cats, The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and conta n my food Please note, plac ng a paw pr nt in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I f nd that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. The sta rway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tr pp ng me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run. I cannot buy anything bigger than a k ng sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not th nk I will cont nue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hang ng out the other end to max mize space is nothing but sarcasm. For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, wh ne, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not requ red. The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough! To pacify you my dear pets I have posted the following message on our front door: To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets: 1. They live here. You don't. 2. If you don't want their ha r on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.) 3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. 4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly. Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they: 1. Eat less 2. Don't ask for money all the time 3. Are easier to train 4. Normally come when called 5. Never ask to drive the car 6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends 7. Don't smoke or drink 8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions 9. Don't want to wear your clothes 10. Don't need a "gazillion" dollars for college. And finally, 11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

Dog Obedience School 1st Place Winner


Employment Opportunities Looking to move to Atlanta? Already in Atlanta and need a job? Georgia Tech is looking to fill a Laboratory Tech II position this summer by an experienced Laboratory Animal worker. The job qualifications are:

o able to perform daily evaluation of laboratory animal health including cage change outs o able to safely operate large specialized laboratory equipment and safe use of chemicals o have lab animal vet tech experience and are able to assist the veterinarian with daily

treatments and surgical anesthesia o is very organized and maintains excellent records o having knowledge in various computer programs would be preferred o two or more years of job related experience o Technical Diploma, Associate’s Degree or two year’s college course work or equivalent

combination of education and experience. o full time with weekend and holiday work.

Hiring Range: $12.77-$16.00 Georgia Tech is a small animal facility with 3 full time Laboratory Technicians who perform work in all aspects of maintaining an animal facility. There are currently 6 animal rooms in the facility with 5 species of animals both mammal and reptile. The pay is on the high end of the hiring range. This job has not yet been posted, but if anyone is interested, please contact: Kim Benjamin @ [email protected] or 404-385-6495

Charles River – Consulting & Staffing Services Project Manager-Chicago, IL

Responsibilities include supervising personnel and laboratory animal facilities operations in support of client research efforts in Chicago, IL. Duties include managing senior supervisors, special services technicians, animal caretakers, facility attendants, receiving staff and cagewash attendants; works with senior supervisors to coordinate training of staff ; developing and monitoring adherence to standard operating procedures; effectively controlling costs through economical utilization of personnel, materi-als and equipment; reviewing and monitoring record maintenance; preparing required reports; monitor-ing status of critical equipment and facilities. Conducts performance evaluations, interviews and inves-tigates personnel problems and provides counseling and disciplinary actions in accordance with com-pany policies. Provides positive, professional interaction with customer representatives to proactively determine and provide required services; coordinating and overseeing all aspects of safety and the animal care programs to insure compliance with company policies and procedures, industry standards and all applicable government regulations. BS in Animal Science or related plus AALAS certification at the LATg level is required. Individual must have at least 6 years experience in a research animal facility, of which 3 to 5 are in a supervisory role; minimum of 2 years experience in managing a full service animal facility. Charles River offers a very competitive salary and full benefits package, including health, dental, life, 401(k) and much more. Interested individuals may email their resumes for immediate consideration to [email protected] or [email protected] or fax to 240-686-4392. Charles River Laboratories is an Equal Opportunity Employer who values diversity in the work place.







SEAALAS NEWSLETTER · SEAALAS Newsletter, 2008, Page 2 President: Dean Blake President Elect: Mark Sharpless Past President: Chris Carter Secretary: Kim Benjamin Treasurer: Terri

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