Navigator Newsletter-May 2022

A message from our new Attending Veterinarian, Dr. Christina Cruzen:

I know you’re all super busy so I’ll keep this short! I’ve been a laboratory animal veterinarian for almost 20 years and started my career at the “other” UW (University of Wisconsin). I relocated to California 9 years ago and then to Washington 4 years ago. I quickly fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and really can’t imagine feeling at home anywhere else. I am very excited to be given the opportunity to work with the amazing animal research program here, and to continue to explore this amazing state. I live north of Seattle with my fiancé, two daughters, and two crazy dogs. I’ve recently discovered sailing and am working toward my dream of eventually retiring on a sailboat.

On weekends, I can usually be found chauffeuring my kids between sports competitions (soccer, gymnastics, and rowing), but when the opportunity presents itself, I enjoy paddleboarding, exploring tidepools, visiting local breweries, or enjoying whiskey cocktails on my deck.

I look forward to getting to know you so please don’t hesitate to stop by DCM and say hello or to introduce yourselves as you see me out and about in the animal areas!

Christina Cruzen, DVM, DACLAM

Safety and Security for DCM Facilities

To help ARCF users determine who is authorized to enter the facility, we are requiring that everyone must badge in when entering the ARCF. Even if you are entering with multiple people familiar to you in your group, everyone must swipe their badge individually.

If someone follows you in, please ask them to swipe their badge whether you know them or not. If you are about to exit and someone is attempting to enter, wait for them to badge in before you exit, or ask them to badge in. And if someone asks you to badge in before entry into ARCF, please be kind and do so respectfully.

For your safety and the safety of others, when you enter or exit the facility, please do not allow those who do not badge in to enter the ARCF.

If an unauthorized individual enters or is found inside the vivarium and you do not feel comfortable confronting them, call 911 for help.

Are you Breeding Animals?

Date of Birth and Date of Wean need to be written on the cage cards by the research teams. This is required per The Guide (page 75).

Having this information on the cage card makes it easier to track when you need to wean the animals.

If you are unsure of the date of birth, use the Jax Mice Pups Appearance by Age poster (PDF). This poster is a great resource for accurately aging mouse pups of various coat colors.

Weaning and Sexing Rodents is an online lesson produced by the UW’s Office of Animal Welfare to help learn how to identify male or female mice and perform all the steps to safely wean these young animals.

Don’t forget to add the “New Pups” card in the cage card holder.

* Do not disturb a cage once the pups have been born.

Engaging the Cages in Racks

The colored dots in the cage rack systems need to be fully covered by the levers.

The ventilated auto-water rack systems can appear to be fully engaged when they are not, which can cause the water delivery to the cage to malfunction. By double checking that the side levers are snapped into place and the cages are locked into position you will ensure the water connection is viable.

It is important to make sure each cage you handle is fully locked into place when returning to the rack. This ensures the automated watering system is fully connected at the back of the cage. If the connection is not secure the water will not be there when the animals push on the water valve in the cage, which can quickly lead to dehydration.

Be sure to check out the lesson Engaging Rodent Cages into Racks.

New HoverBoard Training Resource

New training guide and video covering how to add new personnel in HoverBoard are available:

Help Guide: HBTG018.Add New Personnel to a Protocol (PDF)

Video Guide: Adding New Personnel in HoverBoard

You can also find these resources within HoverBoard under the IACUC > Help Center > Guides/Videos tab.

Feel free to send us your feedback and/or suggestions for new guides.

COVID-19 Tests explains when to take a self-test or PCR test.

Radiation Exposure During Pregnancy describes the services EH&S provides to protect workers from radiation exposure during pregnancy.

COVID-19 Policy and Guidance Updates Webinar (UWNetID login required) and presentation (PDF) slides describe the recent changes to University COVID-19 policies. Visit the COVID-19 Health and Safety page for a complete list of updated COVID-19 prevention policies and guidance.