The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

Technicians are essential when it comes to animal laboratory science! Welcome back to another episode of The LASt Word Podcast. Today on the show, we sit down with the current Vice-Chair and soon-to-be chair of the CTAD community, Mary Rodenbarger, to discuss CTAD (Committee on Technician Awareness and Development) and highlight this amazing resource. Tuning in, you'll hear a little bit about Mary's incredible career, what CTAD is, why it was created, how CTAD ensures that technicians have a strong voice inside AALAS, and more. We delve into what CTAD is doing to support their goal of enhancing technicians' role within the profession before discussing how the community meets, what it looks like logistically, and how to get involved. Our guest goes on to share how CTAD encourages people to get involved at the National, District, and branch level. She even talks about the AALAS fun fair and mascot, Huckleberry. Finally, Mary touches on the importance of mentorship in the CTAD community and how technicians can get connected. Thanks for listening in!  Key Points From This Episode: An introduction to today's illustrious guest, Mary Rodenbarger.  A brief overview of Mary's career and what led her to CTAD. What CTAD is, what it stands for, and why it was created. How CTAD ensures that technicians have a voice within AALAS.  What they're working on to support enhancing technicians' roles.  A breakdown of what the CTAD community is like logistically.  How CTAD encourages people to get involved at different levels.  Mary tells us about the AALAS fun fair and our mascot, Huckleberry.  The importance of mentorship in CTAD and how to get connected.  Mary shares her advice for the first step to take to connect with CTAD.  Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Mary Rodenbarger on LinkedIn CTAD AALAS Volunteer Opportunities American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS)The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

  The standard 12-by-12-foot horse stall is widely accepted in the United States, but how much scientific evidence actually supports that number? In this episode, Jennifer Smith is joined by Dr. Meryem Outouil, DVM, Postdoctoral Laboratory Animal Veterinary Resident at Cornell University, to discuss her recent JAALAS paper, 'Evaluation of Short-Term Stall Size Housing on the Behavior and Welfare of Domestic Horses (Equus caballus).' Dr. Outouil explains why her team compared horses housed in standard 144-square-foot stalls with slightly smaller 136-square-foot stalls and how they assessed behavior, movement, stress, and gut health. Using a crossover design, each horse experienced both stall sizes so the researchers could compare its response to each environment. She shares why the modest reduction in stall size did not appear to compromise short-term welfare, what the study revealed about individual differences in horse behavior and sleep, and the limitations of applying these findings more broadly. Listen in to learn why careful observation and evidence-based research are essential when evaluating housing standards for horses. Key Points From This Episode: Dr. Outouil's path from equine medicine to laboratory animal medicine. How questions about Cornell's existing horse stalls inspired the research project. The limited evidence behind the standard 144-square-foot horse stall. Testing whether a modest reduction in stall size affects horse behavior and welfare. Using a crossover design to compare horses in 144 and 136-square-foot stalls. Assessing gut health, cortisol, movement, sleep, and behavior across both stall sizes. What the study revealed about stall size and short-term horse welfare. Individual differences in horse activity, sleep, and lying behavior. Study limitations and opportunities for future research. The role of attentive husbandry staff in monitoring individual horse welfare. Dr. Outouil's advice for evaluating horse housing and assessing existing guidelines. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Dr. Meryem Outouil, DVM 'Evaluation of Short-Term Stall Size Housing on the Behavior and Welfare of Domestic Horses (Equus caballus)'American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS)The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the LAst Word Podcast. Dr. Faazal Rehman, VMD, joins us today to discuss his recent JAALAS paper titled: 'Aquatic Advancements: Refining and Validating a Zebrafish Survival Blood Collection Technique'. Dr. Rehman is currently the Director and Attending Veterinarian in the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine at Southern Illinois School of Medicine. Tuning in, you'll hear all about Dr. Rehman's incredible background, what inspired him to write this paper, his hypothesis for the paper, the team, and more! We delve into the study setup and the methods used before discussing the findings of his study. Dr. Rehman also touches on the discussion they had after the project and some of the limitations of the study. Finally, our guest shares tips for anyone who is passionate about zebrafish and wants to implement his work on them. Thanks for listening!  Key Points From This Episode: Welcoming Dr. Faazal Rehman to the show, and a bit about his background.  What inspired him to write this paper and the team that was involved Dr. Rehman outlines the paper's hypothesis. The way the study was set up and some of his team's methods.   A breakdown of some of the findings of Dr. Rehman's study.  The discussion after the study and the project's limitations.  Advice for someone who shares his passion for zebrafish and wants to implement his study. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Dr. Faazal Rehman on LinkedIn Dr. Faazal Rehman Email Address Dr. Faazal Rehman Phone Number  'Aquatic Advancements: Refining and Validating a Zebrafish Survival Blood Collection Technique'American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS)The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

What does it take to study pain in an animal that cannot tell you how it feels? In this episode, Jennifer Smith welcomes Dr. Joanna Copio, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago, on the final day of her laboratory animal medicine residency. Dr. Copio discusses her JAALAS cover article examining local anesthetics in Octopus bimaculoides and shares how her research interest led her into the emerging field of cephalopod medicine. Dr. Copio explains why octopuses are becoming increasingly important animal models, the challenges of evaluating pain and analgesia in cephalopods, and how her team designed a two-phase study to assess the safety and effectiveness of local anesthetics. She also discusses the surprising results, the lessons learned from negative data, and why the research has opened even more questions for the field. Tune in to learn more about how one veterinary researcher is helping shape the future of cephalopod welfare through innovative research and unexpected findings. Key Points From This Episode: Hear how a childhood experience sparked Dr. Copio's career in research. Meet the team, mentors, and collaborators behind the study. Learn why cephalopods are becoming increasingly important laboratory animals. Find out what motivated the study of local anesthetics in octopuses. Uncover how the research team designed a two-phase study to evaluate pain management. Learn how researchers assessed pain-related behaviors in juvenile octopuses. Explore why the study's findings challenged the team's original hypothesis. The limitations of working with juvenile octopuses and their influence on the study. Discover what the results mean for future research in cephalopods. Dr. Copio shares advice for researchers working with cephalopods. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Dr. Joanna Copio on LinkedIn The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine WashU Medicine Assessing Local Anesthesia in Octopus bimaculoides to Provide Analgesia American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM)American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS)The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

For years, single housing male mice has been widely accepted as standard practice, but emerging research suggests it may be time to rethink that assumption. In this episode, Jennifer Smith is joined by Dr. Jennifer Kylie, Senior Staff Veterinarian at Charles River Laboratories, to discuss her recent JAALAS paper, 'Social Housing of Male CD-1 Mice (Mus musculus) in the Toxicological Setting: A 28-Day Social Compatibility Study of Male Mice following Oral Gavage of Theophylline.' Dr. Kylie explains the long-standing concerns around aggression in male mice and why her team set out to test whether social housing could work in a toxicology setting without compromising study integrity. She walks through the extensive study design, the findings showing social housing had no negative impact on toxicology study endpoints, and evidence suggesting potential welfare benefits for the animals. The conversation also explores practical guidance for facilities looking to safely rethink housing practices. Listen in for an insightful discussion on advancing animal welfare through evidence-based research! Key Points From This Episode: What sparked Dr. Kylie's interest in laboratory animal medicine and veterinary science. Dr. Kylie introduces the team behind this extensive research project. Why social housing of male mice remains a challenge in laboratory settings. Testing whether male mice can be socially housed during a 28-day toxicology study. The study's primary and secondary goals: scientific validity and animal welfare. Breaking down the study design, methods, and animal care procedures. Welfare assessments used to evaluate the mice's response to housing. The study's findings and social housing's effect on toxicology study endpoints. Surprising results suggesting potential welfare benefits of social housing. Practical advice for facilities looking to socially house male mice safely. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode:   Dr. Jennifer Kylie on LinkedIn 'Social Housing of Male CD-1 Mice (Mus musculus) in the Toxicological Setting: A 28-Day Social Compatibility Study of Male Mice following Oral Gavage of Theophylline' American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS) The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

Small operational changes can have a major impact on both sustainability and animal care. In this episode, we are joined by Alyssa Valentyn, Supervisor of Vivarium Services at Eisai, US, to discuss her recent JAALAS paper, 'Extended Sanitization Frequency for Bottles: Using Volume as an Alternative to Time-Scheduled Replacements for Mice in Disposable Individually Ventilated Caging Systems.' Alyssa explains how her background in ecology shaped her approach to operational problem-solving and led her team to question whether weekly bottle changes were truly necessary. The conversation explores how the team evaluated water quality, hydration, and animal health while extending bottle use beyond the standard seven-day schedule. Alyssa shares the study's findings, including the absence of contamination and the unexpectedly long lifespan of some bottles without compromising animal welfare. Along the way, she reflects on sustainability, operational efficiency, and reducing environmental waste, while offering advice for facilities interested in conducting similar evaluations in their own programs. Tune in for an insightful conversation on improving operational efficiency without compromising animal care! Key Points From This Episode: Welcoming today's guest, Alyssa Valentyn, Supervisor of Vivarium Services at Eisai, US. Alyssa's path from ecology and field research into laboratory animal science. How working with wild rodents shaped Alyssa's interest in animal care. A thank you from Alyssa to the team behind the study and paper. An overview of Alyssa's JAALAS paper on bottle sanitization frequency. The three study goals: reducing waste, ergonomic strain, and workflow inefficiency. How the team designed a volume-based bottle replacement study. The metrics used to evaluate animal health, hydration, and water quality. Why housing density played an important role in the study design. Findings on water quality, lack of contamination, and bottle lifespan over time. How extending bottle use significantly reduced plastic waste, operational strain, and costs. Limitations that they identified with the study, and what future studies could explore. How Eisai implemented a volume-based bottle replacement system. Alyssa's advice for facilities considering similar operational evaluations. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode:   Alyssa Valentyn on LinkedIn 'Extended Sanitization Frequency for Bottles: Using Volume as an Alternative to Time-Scheduled Replacements for Mice in Disposable Individually Ventilated Caging Systems' Eisai, Us American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS) The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

In this episode of The LASt Word podcast, Jennifer Smith is joined by Dr. Mia Rough, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, and Dr. Michael Nader, Professor and Co-Director of the Center of Addiction Research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, to discuss their recent JAALAS paper, 'Longevity and Catheter-Related Infection Rates in Nonhuman Primates with Chronic Indwelling Intravenous Catheters'. Drawing on 23 years of medical records and more than 500 catheter implants, they share insights into factors that promote long-term vascular access success, including femoral vein placement, minimal surgical repairs, and the use of subcutaneous vascular access ports (VAPs). Their findings demonstrate remarkably low infection rates, underscoring the value of strict aseptic protocols, strong team collaboration, and evidence-based practices in supporting both high-quality research and animal welfare. Tune in as they discuss the multidisciplinary team involved, the components of their introduction, how they developed and implemented the study's methodological framework, and other relevant aspects of the study.   Key Points From This Episode: We are introduced to today's guests, Dr. Mia Rough, Ph.D., and Dr. Michael Nader, Ph.D. The title of their paper: 'Longevity and Catheter-Related Infection Rates in non-human primates with chronic indwelling intravenous catheters.' Dr. Nader highlights the multidisciplinary team whose coordinated expertise underpinned the study's design, data collection, and analysis. They unpack the introduction of their paper, including animal types, model, catheter types, factors that would impact longevity, and infection risk in animals. Their systematic development and implementation of the study's methodological framework. Dr. Rough covers the maintenance procedure of the study. The species, groups, gender, and number of monkeys they looked at. Dr. Rough describes their data, results, and principal findings of their paper. They share their most surprising finding of the study. Their thoughts on infection rates in the larger population of research monkeys (or other species). How they developed their SOP and what best practices are. Dr. Rough addresses how many people were trained in their SOP procedure. Consideration of the procedural duration required to perform VAP placement. They share an overview of their discussion section. Dr. Rough and Nader share their thoughts on antibiotic use, and its possible impact, looking back on the 23 years of work. They characterize the vascular sites investigated and summarize the major findings. Their advice to others considering the evaluation of indwelling catheters.   Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Dr. Mia Rough, Ph.D., on LinkedIn Dr. Michael Nader. Ph.D., on LinkedIn 'Longevity and Catheter-Related Infection Rates in Nonhuman Primates with Chronic Indwelling Intravenous Catheters' American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS)The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

What happens when you switch to environmental health monitoring and uncover a pathogen you have never seen? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Lauren Habenicht, Senior Clinical Veterinarian and Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Colorado Anschutz, to unpack the real-world realities of detecting and responding to Pneumocystis murina. In our conversation, Dr. Habenicht shares the story behind her recent paper, 'Detection and Remediation of Pneumocystis murina Infections by Environmental Health Monitoring,' including why her institution moved away from soiled bedding sentinels, and how rack-level exhaust dust and targeted follow-up sampling changed what pathogens they could detect. Through the lens of three case studies, Dr. Habenicht also walks through confirmation strategies, interpreting PCR copy numbers, distinguishing between true infections and environmental contamination, and practical remediation options for navigating the unexpected. Tune in for a clear, evidence-based framework for optimising monitoring programs and protecting today's complex immunocompromised and "immune-vague" mouse colonies with Dr. Lauren Habenicht!   Key Points From This Episode: Meet Dr. Lauren Habenicht and hear how she went from music to lab animal medicine. Hear who contributed to the paper, their respective roles, and how they worked together. Why the shift to environmental health monitoring changed pathogen detection approaches. Find out what P. murina is and why it behaves as an opportunistic respiratory pathogen. What "immune-vague" means and why modern mouse models can be hard to categorise. Explore the testing structure and how rack engineering enables sampling for pathogens. Case study 1: how sampling protocol identified a single affected strain across multiple cages. Case study 2: discover how rack testing led to a single positive cage with unclear origin. Case study 3: explore how false-positives manifest due to environmental contamination. The value of environmental monitoring and why PCR copy cannot rule out false-postitives. Unpack what remains unknown about true clearance versus suppression P. murina. Advice on how to improve the detection and remediation of P. murina in colonies.   Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Dr. Lauren Habenicht Dr. Lauren Habenicht on LinkedIn University of Colorado Anschutz 'Detection and Remediation of Pneumocystis murina Infections by Environmental Health Monitoring'American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS)The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

What really happens to a pig's bloodwork once under anesthesia, and how much do those changes matter for your studies? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. McKayla Carlson, clinical veterinarian at Nationwide Children's Hospital, to unpack her recent paper, 'Effect of Anesthesia on Hematologic Parameters of Female Domestic Swine.' First, Dr. Carlson shares her path into laboratory animal medicine and the clinical case of a Göttingen mini pig named Gertie that inspired the paper. Then, we walk through the design of the study, its key findings, and the mechanisms that may explain the observed results. They also explore the limitations of current reference intervals and how factors such as sex, breed, and induction choice could alter results and interpretations. Join us to rethink what "safe" anesthesia really means for hematologic data in swine and how more informed protocols can support better animal care and better science with Dr. McKayla Carlson. Tune in now!   Key Points From This Episode: Hear how Dr. Carlson's early research experiences led her into comparative medicine. Find out about the team behind the paper and each team member's role in the study. How a clinical case involving a Göttingen mini pig named Gertie inspired the study. Why pre-analytic, analytic, and post-analytic variables are crucial for interpreting CBC results. The design of the study and the two different induction protocols used. Gain an overview of the study's results and unexpected findings. Insights into the possible mechanisms behind the changes observed in the study. Unpack the limitations of the study and what future studies should consider. Explore the broader implications of anesthesia and why it is not "benign." Dr. Carlson shares her recommendations for interpreting results from anesthetized animals.   Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Dr. McKayla Carlson on LinkedIn Nationwide Children's Hospital Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) 'Effect of Anesthesia on Hematologic Parameters of Female Domestic Swine'American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS)The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast

Refinement starts before the experiment! In this episode of The Last Word podcast, Dr. Reid Landes, Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, discusses his paper 'More Power for Less Money: Statistical, Power, and Cost Analyses That Account for Intracluster Correlation in Experiments with Same-Group Cage Mates'. Dr. Landes explains why accounting for intracluster correlation—when animals housed in the same cage are more similar than those in different cages—is essential for accurate results and adherence to the Three Rs of animal welfare, particularly refinement. He shares how using more cages with fewer animals per cage can improve statistical power, reduce animal use, and lower costs, and why aligning your statistical analysis plan with your experimental design from the start is critical. Tune in to learn how thoughtful design leads to more ethical, efficient, and reliable animal research.   Key Points From This Episode: We are introduced to today's guest and the topic of conversation. Dr. Landes' education and career journey: from math teacher to statistician. The impetus for getting his paper out there. The three Rs of animal welfare.  What they aimed to accomplish with the paper: the statistics of same-group cage mates. He dives into the concept of intracluster correlation. Dr. Landes unpacks some examples of what readers might see in the paper.  He sheds light on the degree of acceptance from the research community on his idea of looking into intracluster variation.  How to approach measuring intracluster correlation. He explains how statistical analysis should flow from experiment design.  Why more cages with fewer animals per cage is a more powerful experiment.  The importance of proper planning from the very beginning. Dr. Landes introduces listeners to JASP: free open-source software for non-statisticians.  His advice to other researchers: make sure your statistical analysis plan aligns with your experiment design.   Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Dr. Reid Landes on LinkedIn 'More Power for Less Money: Statistical, Power, and Cost Analyses That Account for Intracluster Correlation in Experiments with Same-Group Cage Mates' JASP Software American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) AALAS Learning Library Email AALAS Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS)The LASt Word: An AALAS Podcast