BRF Update - FEBRUARY 2019 (2)
We have a lot happening this month! Read on:
Training Coordinator – Karen Knox
Congratulations to Karen Knox who has been successful in being appointed to the Training Coordinator role maternity leave position. Karen will be starting in this role this Monday 4th March which is expected to last until December this year whilst Michelle is away. Karen’s skills and experience will be invaluable in continuing our current momentum in building up our training resources, services and standards of performance.
Research Coordinator – Christa Singh (acting)
As Karen will be in the Training Coordinator role from Monday (4th March), the Research Coordinator role will require a new appointment for the duration of the maternity leave coverage – details of the job advert will be sent through once it is available. During the recruitment process (estimated to be the next 6 weeks) Christa Singh will be acting in the Research Coordinator role, with support from the other facility coordinators and experimental team. Please continue to use the [email protected] email for enquiries as Christa will be your first point of contact. Please bear with us as there may be delays in responses to enquiries and let us know if you are running into any issues at all.
Pasteurella pnuemotropica in BRF colonies
Last year in June a colony of immunocompromised GM animals (which had been present and breeding at TRI for many years) was identified to be positive for Pasteruella pnuemotropica. This was through investigation of a sick animal (typical symptoms are abscesses, including internal ones) as this agent has not shown up on any of the regular colony monitoring/testing. This agent is considered a commensal organism (naturally carried by animals) but causes infection and disease in immunocompromised animals – more information can be found here. As such this agent has been excluded from shipments imported to TRI and the affected colony was rederived and discontinued. Last month unfortunately a sick animal from another well established colony from a different lab was found to be positive for this agent. As such it can be expected that this agent is prevalent through the TRI BRF colonies and has likely been so for many years – with the exception of animals from breeding room 1002 where NSG colonies and recently rederived immunocompromised lines are held. Sentinel and exhaust air dust testing from 1002 has been negative for this agent and additional testing is ongoing.
PCR testing of AHU exhaust air dust is planned for the whole facility, as this is a more sensitive method of testing, to provide further information on our health status and guide decisions on our exclusion policy moving forward. If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact me – once results are received and received a comprehensive health monitoring policy will be sent out for feedback and review. In the meantime if you notice animals with abscesses or have concerns about the health/breeding performance of immunocompromised lines please let us know.
Colony health monitoring – please provide any spare/excess experimental animals
We are due to send off animals for our regular colony health monitoring shortly, so if you have any animals that you no longer need in the experimental wing please let us know ASAP.
Digitally Ventilated Caging – presentation this Thursday 28th February 1pm in seminar room 2003
This presentation will be on the current studies with the DVC, which is technology that provides 24/7 automated monitoring of individual cages on animal activity levels, breeding, cage changing, food and water supply, with implications for immunology, behavioural, neuroscience, surgical recovery, circadian rhythm studies, animal welfare and facility operations in general.
A calendar invite with full details is attached to this email – come find out about the future of animal facilities.
UQBR-TASQ presentation – latest developments in reproductive technologies and applications for GM rodent cohort production – Tues 5th March 11am AIBN/webinar
TASQ have made some exciting developments whereby they can produce cohorts of age matched GM experimental animals, which in many cases can be more cost effective than the traditional breeding of GM animals, and also reduces on animal wastage which is a significant ethical benefit as well. I would encourage everyone to attend this presentation.
A calendar invite with full details is attached to this email. The live presentation will be in seminar room 75 at AIBN but also run via live webinar - we have booked room 6000 to view this but you can join in on your own computer using the Zoom link in the attached invite.
Mental health information
We are looking at ways to improve the mental health of everyone working in the BRF and welcome any suggestions or feedback. In consultation with TRI Safety we have added additional information to the online BRF Induction Training material on the mental health risks that are commonly encountered in association with the use of animals for research purposes. This information is included here, particularly for those who have already completed their online training prior to the update:
Working with animals for research purposes can have detrimental effects on mental health. Common risk factors are:
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Exposure to animal trauma (disease states from research or spontaneous illness)
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Exposure to animal death (for research purposes, for excess animals or unexpected deaths)
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High job demand/low job control – it may not be possible to delay/reschedule animal work which can result in long working hours/working out of hours
You may experience the following symptoms (and/or other signs) due to a poor state of mental health:
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Sadness, anxiety, guilt, irritability/anger, stress
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Difficulty in focusing/making decisions
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Lack of energy
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Difficulty eating/sleeping properly
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Sickness
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Excessive responses to sound/visual stimuli
If you experience symptoms of poor mental health, it is very important that you discuss it with someone and get assistance:
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Let your supervisor know and/or colleagues/family if possible
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Seek professional help – You can consult your GP and/or free and confidential support is usually available through your organisation’s employee assistance programs or student support services – information is available on the TRI WHS Intranet page. It can be important to get a medical record in case your mental health affects your ability to work.
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If your symptoms are related to working with animals for research purposes, submit an WHS incident report via the TRI WHS online form – this helps us provide support and investigate ways to prevent future incidents.
Reproducibility and the microbiome – Emily Duggan – Seminar room 2003 Friday 22nd March 1pm
Emily Duggan (our Gnotobiotic Facility Coordinator) attended the ‘Modelling the Mammalian-Microbiota Host Superorganism’ conference in Paris late last year. She will be presenting on problems with reproducible results due to microbiome changes and how there is a need for a stable microbiome in lab animal studies.
