2008 District 8 Meeting Workshops 

Note: round trip transportation is provided for all workshops held at sites other than the convention center, included in the workshop cost.  Buses will leave  and return approximately 30 minutes before and after scheduled workshop times. 

1. Preparing for Your First Management Position

   Instructor: Valerie Hamlin, LATG - Husbandry Services Manager, University of Michigan
   Wednesday, April 23, noon-4:00 pm at the convention center.
   Maximum of 16 participants.
   Cost $40

   If you are starting in your first management position, or thinking about moving from the animal room, veterinary position, or laboratory to the manager’s office, you may be intimidated by situations such as hiring, firing, facility disasters, and keeping your staff productive. This workshop will help you obtain the information you need to handle those new situations as a manager with confidence. You’ll learn to hire the right staff, develop your personnel management skills, and work on your leadership style. Techniques for preparing an interview, considering applicants, evaluating staff, delegating, and coaching will be presented. This workshop will prepare you for knowing what to do when mini-disasters with staff, facilities, or researchers fall in your lap. It is designed for laboratory animal professionals that have never been in a leadership position before, or those that are taking on new challenges with staff.

    

2. Washington National Primate Research Center Tour
   Thursday, April 24 noon-1:00 p.m.
   Thursday, April 24 1:30- 2:30 p.m.
   Tour offered at 2 times, maximum of 12 people per tour.
   Cost: $40

   A visit to the university site of the WaNPRC, to include a brief introductory

   presentation, and tour of selected areas.

    

3. Xenopus Handling and Procedures 101

   Instructor: George E. Sanders, DVM, MS, Fish Pathologist, University of Washington Harborview Medical Center
   Maximum 10 participants.
   Cost $85

   Participants will actively learn humane handling, anesthesia, and injection techniques in Xenopus frogs. Included is lymph sac injection, blood vessel access, disease diagnostic techniques, and methods of euthanasia. Importance of water quality to frog health and how to test water will be reviewed. Dye will be used to demarcate the frog lymphatic system. Male and female frogs will be available.

    

4. A Practical Approach to Rodent Necropsy: Techniques and Tricks of the Trade.

   Instructors: Piper M. Treuting, DVM, MS, Diplomate, ACVP - University of Washington

   Sue Knoblaugh, DVM - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
   Thursday, April 24 10:15 a.m- 12:15 p.m
   Harborview Medical Center
   Maximum 12 participants
   Cost $85

   The session will cover basic rodent necropsy in rats and mice, to include: a systematic approach to proper organ identification and collection, tissue trimming for histology, and how to document findings. Each participant will have an individual specimen to work with.

    

5. Non-invasive Bioimaging of Laboratory Rodents

   Instructors: Ben Weigler, DVM, Phd, Derek Masse, Barbara Lewellyn, Stacy Hansen
   Wednesday April 23rd noon-4pm
   Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
   Maximum 12 participants
   Cost: $40

    

   This workshop will review 3 imaging devices: Visual Sonic Vevo 770 Ultrasound, GE micro-CT Scanner, and

   Xenogen IVIS 100 system for both fluorescence and bioluminescence. Participants will be given a basic tutorial on the design and setup aspects of animal bioimaging, including staff training, site preparation, infection control, promoter or dye injections, and animal anesthesia options.  Then participants will be taken through the steps necessary to achieve quality images in a one hour tutorial overview of each of these three imaging platforms.

   This is an introductory-level session for persons new to the technologies involved.

    

6. Anesthesia--It's a Gas!
   Instructor, Jim Houts, OMNIMED
   Wednesday, April 23 noon-4:00 p.m.
   Maximum 20 participants.
   Harborview Medical Center
   Cost: $85  

    

   This Workshop will feature a comprehensive discussion of inhalant anesthesia systems including oxygen and/or ancillary carrier gas issues, capabilities and limitations of vaporizers, and intricacies of appliances used to administer inhalant anesthetics.  Also covered will be care, cleaning, maintenance, and self-test aspects of the system. In addition, this year will include discussions of mechanical ventilation of subjects.  Emphasis is on definitions and names of components, function of components, and physical properties related to non-rebreathing systems, rebreathing systems, and mechanical ventilation of subjects.  In addition, waste anesthetic gas management, human health issues with respect to exposure to inhalant anesthetics, and OSHA issues will be discussed.  Two-thirds of the session will be didactic; one-third of the session will be devoted to hands-on handling and techniques for subject animal induction and maintenance.  This presentation is targeted for technicians, investigators, facilities managers, veterinarians, Ph.D.'s and all those interested in learning more about the mechanical properties of inhalant anesthesia systems.  Attendees can expect to learn the basic techniques of inhalant anesthesia using Isoflurane.  For those novices who have not used Isoflurane inhalant anesthetic, the goal of this session is to show how safe and easy it is to administer Isoflurane, how easy it is to maintain a surgical plane of anesthesia, and how fast the recovery is using Isoflurane; and to learn the mechanical properties of the system.  Experts in inhalant anesthesia can expect to learn the proper name, function, and mechanical properties of the inhalant anesthesia system.

    

7. Mouse and Rat Humane Handling, Tickling, and Blood Draw Technique
   Instructors: Sylvie Cloutier, DVM - Washington State University
   Kari Koszdin, DVM - VA Puget Sound Health Care System
   Thursday, April 24 8:00 -10:00 a.m.
   Maximum 12 participants
   Harborview Medical Center
   Cost: $85

   Participants will observe and practice humane techniques for restraint and handling of rats and mice with an emphasis on minimizing stress . Rat tickling techniques will be taught with the intent of making the handling experience positive for the animals.  Methods of blood draw covered will include facial vein in mice and lateral saphenous vein in rats.