University of Washington, Department of Comparative Medicine, WA

The overall goal of the clerkship program is to provide senior veterinary students with significant appreciation of the roles and opportunities for veterinarians in biomedical research and laboratory animal medicine.

Specifically, students will:

1. Acquire knowledge and skills relating to the practice of clinical laboratory animal medicine in commonly utilized research species, including mice, rats, rabbits, fish, frogs, dogs, and non-human primates.
2. Obtain experience in anatomic pathology and the correlation of clinical findings and clinical pathology, with gross and microscopic changes.
3. Gain an appreciation of the specific regulations governing the use of animals in biomedical research, teaching, and testing.
4. Acquire an appreciation of the roles of veterinarians in managing and directing the care and husbandry of laboratory animals in academia and industry.
5. Acquire an appreciation of the roles of veterinarians in training principal investigators (PIs), research technicians, and animal care staff in the proper care and the use of laboratory animals in biomedical research.

Program Activities

1. DCM Veterinary Services clinical unit:
   • Shadow veterinarians and veterinary technicians as they examine and treat clinical cases within DCM vivariums.Emphasis will be on diagnosis, treatment, and management of common laboratory animal diseases and research complications.
   • Observe and assist veterinarians and veterinary technicians prepare, anesthetize, and monitor research animals during selected experimental animal surgeries.
   • Learn restraint, sexing, anesthesia, venipuncture, administration of medication, and euthanasia of common laboratory animal species. Information will be obtained from autotutorials, formal animal use training sessions (AUTS), and experience with clinical cases.
   • Participate in daily phone rounds, weekly clinical rounds, and bi-weekly joint clinical/pathology rounds.
2. DCM Aquatic Animal Medicine:
   • Meet with aquatic animal specialist Dr. George Sanders, DVM, MS.
   • Shadow Dr. Sanders on aquatic animal rounds at the UW.
   • Potentially shadow Dr. Sanders during visits to the Seattle Aquarium and/or Woodland Park Zoo.
3.  Veterinary Pathology:
   • Meet with Dr. Piper Treuting DVM, MS or Dr. Jessica Snyder DVM, MSto discuss the Anatomic Pathology Unit operations and staff, rotational goals, role of pathology in biomedical research.
   • Attend diagnostic necropsies as they are performed. Assist pathologists performing necropsies to gain experience in comparative pathology.
   • Optional attendance at the AFIP (Armed Forces Institute of Pathology) Thursday afternoon microscope sessions.
4. National Primate Research Center (WNPRC):
   • Meet with Melinda Young (Occupational Health Nurse) and Dr. Keith Vogel (Clinical Veterinarian).
   • Learn about the operations of the WNPRC.
   • Shadow veterinarians, veterinary residents, and veterinary technicians to learn about the nonhuman primate medicine, pathology, environmental enrichment, and research.
5. DCM Transgenic Resources Unit
   • Meet with Warren Ladiges DVM, MS (Transgenic Laboratory Manager) to discuss the goals and functions of the Transgenic Resources Laboratory.
   • Shadow transgenic research scientists in the tissue culture lab and review ES cell culture and gene targeting (“Knockout”) mouse technology.
   • Shadow transgenic research scientists to learn how a transgenic mouse colony is set up, observe embryo harvests, pronuclear and/or ES cell injections, and the surgical re-implantations of the injected embryo
6. DCM Rodent Health Monitoring
   • Meet with Dr. Susan Dowling DVM to discuss the goals of the rodent health monitoring program.
   • Shadow DCM staff during testing of rodent colonies for pathogens.
   • Attend “Specific Pathogen Free” facility orientations to learn standard procedures for maintaining animal housing facilities free of pathogen free
7. DCM Gnotobiotic Animal Core (GNAC)
   • Meet with Dr. Charlie Hsu, VMD, PhD to discuss the concepts of gnotobiology, maintenance of gnotobiotic mice, and research applications of gnotobiotic mice.
   • Visit the GNAC animal facility to learn about how germ-free mice are created, maintained, and used in experimental study.
   • Potentially shadow GNAC staff during husbandry and/or experimental procedures in the GNAC.
8. UW Office of Animal Welfare
   • Meet with Dr. Michelle Newman DVM, IACUC Review Scientist
   • Discuss the basics of USDA and NIH Animal Use Regulations.
   • Learn about the functions of the UW Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and the requirements for obtaining approval for research involving animals at the UW.
9. Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
   • Meet with Dr. Rajesh Uthamanthil DVM, PhD (Director of Animal Resources) and/or Dr. Michelle , to learn about the FHCRC and Animal Resources Program.
   • Learn about the canine bone marrow transplant program.
   • Tour the FHCRC and viviarium
10. Local Biotechnology company
    • Meeting with Dr. Kim Waggie, DVM, PhD
    • Learn about the roles of laboratory animal veterinarians in the biotech industry.
    • Tour the viviarium.
11. Didactic learning
    • ACLAM CD of basic laboratory animal medicine
    • Weekly ACLAM board review, Thursday noon (optional)
    • Weekly Research/Pathology Conference 1:30-2:30
    • Weekly Clinical Conference/Lit Review 2:30-3:30
    • Animal Use Training Sessions (AUTS) classes (Specific Pathogen Free, Mouse, Rat, UW Rules and Regulations, etc)
    • UW Animal Facility orientations (K-wing, Foege).
12. Student presentation
    • At the end of the Clerkship, students will give an informal 30-40 minute presentation on a clinical case, selected topic in laboratory animal medicine, or research project which interested them during their 4 week rotation.

The Department of Comparative Medicine (DCM) is one of 12 basic science Departments in the School of Medicine (http://depts.washington.edu/compmed/index.html), and is located in the Magnuson Health Sciences Center. DCM included > 30 primary, affiliate, and adjunct veterinarians trained in laboratory animal medicine or pathology.  The DCM is typically ranked between 3 and 6 in the country for NIH sponsored research funding in the veterinary science area. The DCM mission is to improve the health and medicine of both humans and animals through excellence in the humane and ethical use of animals in biomedical research.  The DCM promotes an environment that fosters competitive research, encourages collaboration with other universities and outside units, and provides the intellectual and technological setting appropriate for state-of-the-art training. The DCM offers training at many levels, including externship programs in Laboratory Animal Medicine for 3rd and 4th year veterinary students, post-graduate training programs in Laboratory Animal Medicine, and a Master of Science (MS) degree in Comparative Medicine. The DCM oversees the entire animal research program at the UW, which currently has over 500 principal investigators, 1,100 active research protocols and occupies more than 95,000 sq. ft of animal holding space. The UW Animal Care Program is accredited by the American Association for the Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International. The DCM directly administers the University’s centralized research animal program and provides a comprehensive range of animal husbandry, veterinary, and laboratory services. The DCM closely interacts with the UW’s Office of Animal Welfare (OAW) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) on animal care and use training and attending veterinarian functions.

Selected Resources:

TEXTS:

1. Pathology of Laboratory Rodents & Rabbits by Percy and Barthold
2. Pathology of Genetically-Engineered Mice by Jerrold Michael Ward, Joel Mahler, Robert R. Maronpot, John P. Sundberg (Editor)
3. Pathology of the Mouse: Reference and Atlas by R. Maronpot

WEB

1. Rodent Phenotyping:    http://www.radil.missouri.edu/pheno/
2. Immunohistochemical Info: http://www.ihcworld.com/
3. The Visible Mouse: http://tvmouse.compmed.ucdavis.edu/
4. ACVP:  http://www.acvp.org/
5. AFIP Vet Path: http://www.afip.org/vetpath/

At completion, the student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate competence in the restraint, physical examination, administration of medication, venipuncture, anesthesia, and euthanasia of common laboratory animal species.
2. Describe a quality assurance (QA) program, and discuss basic disease prevention procedures for a laboratory animal colony.
3. Describe the generation and utilization of transgenic and gene-targeted mice in biomedical research.
4. Describe the generation, maintenance, and utilization of gnotobiotic mice in biomedical research.
5. Demonstrate technical experience in anatomic pathology including necropsy techniques for rodents and how to properly sample tissues. Students will acquire an appreciation of the role of anatomic pathology in biomedical research institutions. Depending on interest level, students may be able to read histopathology slides with pathologists.
6. Understand the importance of aquatic animals in biomedical research. Students will obtain an understanding of the unique differences between and use for common semi-terrestrial and totally aquatic laboratory animal species. Students will understand the importance of water quality parameters as it relates to there required measurements (frequency and technique), establishment and evaluation of adequate ranges, and potential effects on aquatic animals and living biological ecosystems.Students will acquire an appreciation of adequate health evaluations and monitoring, common disease issues, potential treatments for collections of aquatic animals. Students will understand aquatic animal housing systems (type, design, and function).
7. Discuss the basics of the regulations governing the use of animals in research, teaching, and testing. Students will understand the components and roles of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and should be able to discuss the process by which permission to use animals in research, teaching, or testing can be obtained.
8. Discuss the roles of the laboratory animal veterinarian in providing adequate and appropriate husbandry and care of animals, maintaining animal facilities, and managing animal care staff personnel.

Students will be provided the names and contact information for individuals that rent rooms in their houses near the University of Washington

Health Sciences Center, 1959 NE Pacific St
Seattle, WA 98195-7340
United States