Navigator Newsletter-March 2023

Mark Your Calendars – AAALAC is Coming!

The University of Washington’s animal program is accredited by AAALAC International. To maintain accreditation, AAALAC will be conducting a mandatory site visit of our program this summer.

They will visit our Arizona site on June 22nd, and Seattle area sites June 26-30th.

AAALAC site visitors may ask to see any area where animals are used or housed, sometimes with very little notice. We ask that all members of the UW animal research community are prepared to host visitors that week!

Bookmark our 2023 AAALAC Site Visit website for visit details and resources to help you prepare.

NIH Encourages the Use of the ARRIVE Essential 10

To enhance rigor and further support reproducibility, NIH is encouraging broad use of the Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines for all publications that use vertebrate animals and cephalopods.

The ARRIVE Essential 10 is a checklist of ten key elements to include in animal research publications to ensure that methodology and results are fully described. This allows for the community to adequately assess results and replicate the methods and findings.

Masks Still Required in DCM and WaNPRC Animal Rooms

Masks are required when working with mammals in animal housing and procedure spaces to minimize the potential transmission of COVID to research animals.

In rodent rooms, put on a mask when you put on gloves/ sleeves, just prior to working with rodents in the hood.

A mask is not required if you are entering a rodent room and not actively working with rodents.
In large mammal rooms, put on a mask when you enter the mammal room.

Cage Cards

Don’t forget to write the Emergency Contact Name and their Phone Number on the cage cards.

‘Your team can print labels or create a sticker system to get that information onto the card if you don’t like writing. Keep that material in your PI’s bin, in the housing room.

Check For Expired Materials

‘Expired medications and medical /cleaning supplies cannot be used on animals or on surfaces that come in contact with animals.

Check expiration dates for drugs, sutures, gloves, cleaning supplies, and even your first aid kits on a regular basis.

Expired items must be removed from areas that animals live in or visit, or must be clearly labelled

“Expired – not for use in live animals.”
Expired anesthetics, pain medications, and euthanasia solutions can NEVER be used.