Navigator Newsletter-November 2024

2024 3Rs Symposium

November 21st
11:30am – 2:00pm
HUB 214 + Online via Zoom

Join us for an engaging session with Dr. Lisa Levin, a leading advocate for the 3Rs: replacement, reduction, and refinement. Dr. Levin will discuss key steps in promoting the adoption of non-animal research models.

The event will also feature lightning talks by the 2024 3Rs Pilot Award recipients, showcasing their innovative work in advancing the 3Rs principles.

This event is open to the UW community and the public. Registration is required. A free networking lunch will be provided (limited to the first 40 attendees).

Register today to attend this session.

Contingency Planning: What to do if you can’t provide care for your animals

Significant events such as a snowstorm, flood, earthquake, or fire may cause the UW to suspend operations, make it impossible for you to come to work, or force you to evacuate without advance notice.

To ensure continued animal care, labs must have a written contingency plan posted in areas where animals may be present. All members of the lab must be trained on the plan and know how to respond correctly in an emergency. For USDA-regulated species, there are specific USDA requirements related to contingency plans.

For animals housed within DCM vivaria, DCM staff will ensure continued care.

For animals housed within WaNPRC, WaNPRC will ensure continued care for animals, but investigators who normally feed their own animals should review the WaNPRC SOP “Emergency Procedures for Animals Fed or Watered by Investigators.

For animals housed outside of DCM vivaria, you must call DCM’s answering service (contact oawrss@uw.edu for the number), and let the operator know that animals are present in your IACUC-approved lab-managed housing space and whether a lab member is able to care for them.

Please note, this is a 3rd party answering service. You will not be speaking with a DCM employee.

If you must evacuate while you have animals in a procedure space outside of a vivarium, have a plan in place for what to do. Animals left in procedure spaces due to an emergency should be secured within cages and have access to food and water.

Labs should be prepared at all times to quickly meet these conditions or to euthanize animals prior to evacuation, if it is possible to do so without risking human safety.

IACUC Policy: Post-operative Monitoring and Surgical Closures

The IACUC recently reviewed and revised their policy on Post-operative Monitoring and Surgical Closures in Research Animals. Review this policy if your IACUC protocol involves survival surgery.

Revisions to the policy include adding definitions, adding specific reference to birds, strengthening and clarifying language around dehiscence and other post-operative complications requiring veterinary consult, and updating language around suture selection, closure methods, and level of detail required in the IACUC protocol.

Check out the IACUC Policies page for additional policies that may be relevant to your research. Policies that have been recently updated will be labeled with an orange badge, so keep your eye out for badged policies that may need a fresh review.

Help Make the OAW/CLATR Website Better

We are continuously working to improve our services and are requesting your feedback for the OAW/CLATR website.

Please provide your input by completing this Feedback Survey.

Completing this survey by November 30th will help us make improvements to the website. Thank you!

ABSL-2: Changes in Practice

Biosafety Cabinets in DCM facilities

Going forward, turn off the BSC after you have completed working with and sanitizing BSC.

Turn on and run the blower and keep it going for ten minutes to ensure the air has cycled through before you start putting materials in the BSC and working within it.

Free Images for the Biology Community

Do you need an illustration for your next publication or presentation?

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has created a massive repository of high-quality scalable illustrations available to the entire world for free. No registration or subscription is required.

The database is searchable by categories and topics. You can choose the file type that you think is best for your project. The PNG images have transparent background, so you can put the selected image on a, UW PPT template and it will look fantastic.

Check out NIH BioART Source.