ASLAP News

Sept Newsletter is here!

Log into the website to access the latest newsletter and check out Member News for more highlights.

ASLAP CE Seminar & Luncheon Registration now open!

The American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners invites you to attend and participate in this year’s Continuing Education Seminar: The Assessment of Welfare in Laboratory Rats and Mice. This day long CE Seminar is set for Sunday October 30th and being held in the Charlotte Convention Center from 8am -4pm.

Speakers for the seminar include:

Georgia Mason, Ph.D., Canada Research Chair and Professor, Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph

Emily Patterson-Kane, Ph.D., Animal Welfare Scientist, Division of Animal Welfare, American Veterinary Medical Association

Brianna N. Gaskill, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Animal Welfare, Purdue University

The objective of this seminar is to provide laboratory animal practitioners with practical tools for assessment for animal welfare. Measurements of animal welfare will be introduced by the speakers and participants will be invited to participate in roundtable discussions of various research and husbandry scenarios that impact the welfare of laboratory rats and mice. Participants will use their professional judgement and the animal welfare measures to develop science-based assessments of animal welfare.

The cost of the seminar includes lunch and a continental breakfast. Registration is $175 prior to Monday October 24th and $200 for onsite registration.

ASLAP Luncheon is scheduled for 12-2pm on Monday October 31st in the Westin Hotel and will celebrate ASLAP's 50th Anniversary! Registration is $45 prior to Monday October 24th and $65 for onsite luncheon registration. Guest registration is $55 prior to Monday October 24th and $75 for onsite luncheon registration.

Want to register for these events? Click here to register online. Click here for a registration form.

Dr. William Hill Named 2016-2017 President of ASLAP

Memphis, TN —William Allen Hill, DVM, MPH, DACLAM, University Attending Veterinarian and Director of the Animal Care Unit (ACU) at The University of Kansas (KU), will serve as president of the American Society for Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP) starting August 2016. As one of eighteen constituent allied organizations in veterinary medicine and with over 800 members nationwide, ASLAP represents and advocates for all veterinarians involved in laboratory animal medicine and welfare

A longtime member of ASLAP, Dr. Hill has previously served on the organization’s Board of Directors, the Veterinary Student Liaison Committee, as well as the foundation board.

“Since its organization in 1966, ASLAP has endeavored to advance laboratory animal medicine and welfare through member development and representation in the greater professional community,’ said Dr. Hill. “ I am grateful for ASLAP’s impact on my career and honored to serve as president during ASLAP’s 50^th anniversary year. I look forward to joining with our membership and industry partners to advocate for the needs of laboratory animal veterinarians and our specialty, promote collegiality, and support initiatives to ensure professional sustainability.”

At KU, Dr. Hill provides leadership in strategic planning and growth of the Animal Care and Use Program and is responsible for all ACU operations, including provision of adequate veterinary and husbandry care to the University’s animal resources and personnel and fiscal management. Prior to joining KU, Dr. Hill spent 7 years as a faculty member and Assistant Director of the Office of Laboratory Animal Care at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. William holds degrees from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (BS, Laboratory Animal Science, 1999), North Carolina State University (DVM, 2003), and the University of Tennessee (MPH, 2010).

AVMA Launches Clinical Studies Database

The AVMA has recently developed and launched a searchable database available that can be searched by anyone interested in determining if opportunities exist to help their pet, or to contribute to background knowledge, with respect to certain diseases. Several years ago, the AVMA Council on Research made the recommendation for this undertaking to the AVMA Executive Board. After a great deal of effort by many, the database has come to fruition and investigators can post requests for animal study participants, while animal owners and veterinarians can search for opportunities to participate in studies. The database includes randomized clinical trials, as well as, prospective clinical studies and survey and epidemiological studies. Previously, the Veterinary Cancer Society ran a database, Veterinary Cancer Trials; however, those studies have now all been transferred to the AVMA Clinical Studies Database which will include studies related to potentially any clinical disease affecting animals, including cancer. This new database tool will significantly elevate veterinary clinical trials and, ultimately, the advancement of veterinary medicine.

To learn more click here

ASLAP, the AVMA and why we need each other.

Learn how ASLAP and AVMA work together to support the practice of laboratory animal medicine and why it is critical for all ASLAP members to maintain AVMA membership status, here

2017 Summer Fellowship Program

The Board of Directors (BOD) of the ASLAP Foundation would like to announce the availability of the Request for Application (RFA) for the 2017 Summer Fellowship program. The RFA and Review Criteria can be found at the bottom of the ASLAP Foundation Page (https://www.aslap.org/foundation) along with the checklist used by the BOD in the review of each proposal.

The ASLAP Foundation summer fellowship program is intended to provide the student with a 10-12 week concentrated exposure to the practice of laboratory animal medicine that combines both didactic and experiential training. The fellowship program will provide up to $5,000 to support the summer student. The deadline for submitting applications is September 30, 2016, with awards made by November 18 2016.

Summer Fellowship in LAM

Check out the winners of the 2016 ASLAP Summer Fellowships, here.

Animal Research is Necessary

A recent article in The Hill written by Hollis Cline and Mar Sanchez outlines the importance of animal models in biomedical research. In addition to being a neuroscientist with affiliations with Scripps, Emory and Yerkes, Dr. Cline is President of the Society for Neuroscience and Chair of its Committee on Animals in Research.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/263922-animal-research-is-necessary

Planning to shop on Amazon?

How about donating to ASLAP Foundation at the same time! How you ask? Well it is easy. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com and select ASLAP Foundation as your charity of choice!

Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to ASLAP Foundation
AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service.

AVMA

In case you’ve missed the big announcement in July, 2015, the AVMA has re-branded itself. The new AVMA focuses on “Our Passion. Our Profession” as it protects, promotes and advances the profession and advocates for its members. Watch this short video to learn about these exciting changes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQcORR0ozXw

H.R.3136, the Enforcement Transparency ACT (ETA)

H.R.3136, the Enforcement Transparency ACT (ETA) is a newly introduced bill that would require the USDA to release the guidelines used in the formulation of any civil penalties for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Rod Blum (R-IA), would require the USDA to post a table of penalty guidelines for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act on USDA.gov, making it available to the public.

The USDA previously acknowledged creation of this table in a 2010 press release but has not released it to the public or Members of Congress. Several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for the table from interested stakeholders were denied by USDA. USDA also refused to provide the information when requested by Members of the Senate and House.

While an overwhelming majority of the regulated community (researchers and veterinarians at colleges, universities, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals) has a strong record of compliance, they, and the public, have a right to know what penalties can be levied by USDA for non-compliance with the AWA. This right to know is the crux of open, transparent government, especially when the issuance of financial penalties could impact American competitiveness. If the general public can have knowledge of other penalties like littering, jaywalking, or speeding, the same should apply to laws enforced by USDA.

Publication of the table does not affect the deliberative process of USDA's enforcement of the AWA. The table is intended to be a simple guide to issue a specific dollar amount, where no debate or deliberation is required. USDA, at this point, would have already determined that an institution was not in compliance with the AWA. In fact, USDA claims in the May 2010 press release that the table is meant to serve as a deterrent to violating the AWA. Knowledge of potential penalties could certainly serve as a deterrent and bring trust, clarity and understanding to USDA's enforcement actions.

USDA has denied the public access to these documents because it has said it allows the regulated community to weigh the estimated cost for violation of the AWA. This is an instant and unfair assumption that research institutions choose noncompliance. Seventy eight percent of USDA's inspections of animal research facilities result in no citations for items of noncompliance. Additionally, no research program, private or federal, has budget items designed specifically to address levied fines.

For these reasons, ASLAP urges a position of “active pursuit of passage” of H.R. 3136 by the AVMA, and asks that constituents kindly request their representatives to cosponsor and support the bill.

2014 Salary Survey is now here!

The 2014 Salary Survey is now available in the members-only section under the "Member News" heading.

The purpose of this economic survey is to assess the total annual professional income of laboratory animal veterinarians working in the United States, reflecting also the details and differences between types of employment, job specifics, and levels of experience and responsibility of professionals working in this field. It is repeated every three years under joint sponsorship of ACLAM and ASLAP. The results of this work have been used for a variety of purposes, including peer-comparisons of salary for recruitment and retention efforts by employers and for indirect indications of market place employment conditions of the laboratory animal veterinary medical specialty.

Click here to see the 2014 Salary Survey

AVMA Wellness Website!

As professional care providers, unfortunately many of us wait until we are emotionally fatigued before we turn inward to reflect and address our own care needs. The stresses of workplace management and financial burdens, combined with placing the needs of clients and patients first, can lead quickly to burn out and/or compassion fatigue. Unfortunately poor personal wellness is common in the veterinary profession and all too often support resources are not available or openly discussed.

This year the AVMA felt it was imperative to being having an open and honest conversation about personal and workplace wellness, as the devastating repercussions are indiscriminate in their impact. The 2014-2015 AVMA Future Leaders class developed a comprehensive wellness website that begins with the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) assessment. The ProQOL is a widely validated, self-scored assessment tool that measures the positive and negative effects of helping others and provides a point of introspection to focus on one’s own self-care needs. Individuals are then directed to a comprehensive self-care tool kits with topics ranging from understanding our own vulnerabilities to stress management practices.

Take a moment to complete the self-assessment and explore the toolkit http://www.avma.org/wellness to begin your own wellness journey.

ASLAP is now on Facebook and LinkedIn

ASLAP members can now visit ASLAP Facebook and LinkedIn. On each service you can find ASLAP groups listed under the full name of the organization, American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners. Each site is private and access is allowed only by permission.

To visit either our Facebook or LinkedIn site, follow the links above to the respective sites and follow the instructions on the page to request access. Since the sites are private, membership in Facebook or LinkedIn is required. Once your membership in ASLAP has been confirmed, you will be granted access. If you participate in these services, we would very much appreciate your leaving comments and suggestions at each site.

U.S. Certificate Program in Laboratory Animal Medicine

Applications are currently being accepted for enrollment in the U.S. Certificate Program in Laboratory Animal Medicine. This academic program of study provides continuing education and applied training for licensed U.S. veterinarians working in the field of Laboratory Animal Medicine.