Bring the AREA Program to Your Neighborhood

Each year, AALAS conducts the Animal Research Education & Awareness (AREA) Program at the National Meeting to inform high school science students about the importance of quality laboratory animal care and research. This enlightening and engaging program, which receives rave reviews from educators, provides students with the unique opportunity to interact with laboratory animal science professionals and learn how biomedical research is advancing human and animal health. With the help of Pfizer, the AALAS Foundation now offers complimentary resources to help your branch conduct an AREA Program at your next branch or district meeting.

Conducting an AREA Program is a great way to advance students’ understanding, respect, and support for laboratory animal science. It’s also a fun way to make an impact on the lives of young people interested in science and medicine. The online AREA Program Guide (aalasfoundation.org/AREA_Program_Guide/player.html) contains complete instructions on how to conduct this tried-and-true program. The guide includes everything you need to make this an easy and rewarding experience for your branch members and AREA participants. In addition to the step-by-step guide, AALAS also offers free AREA Program backpacks, notebooks, pens, and Foundation outreach materials.

Most branch AREA expenditures are limited to lunch for program participants, printing costs, and meeting room expenses, though some go the extra mile and reimburse schools for transportation expenses related to the event. Some branches recruit sponsors to cover these expenses. Two other potential funding sources for your program are the Ben Cohen Branch Education Fund and the Pfizer Branch AREA Program Fund. The Cohen Branch Education Fund supports qualified educational programs offered by AALAS branches. In order to qualify for funding, branches must meet the branch compliance criteria and submit a complete application, including all supplemental documents. (Retroactive funding is not available). A limited number of AREA Program grants are also available through the Pfizer Branch AREA Program Fund. For information on how your branch can apply for these grants, please contact AALAS Foundation Administrator Mike Mathy at foundation@aalas.org.

AALAS 2011 Keynote Speaker: W Mitchell

Session Recording Access Available for Purchase

Session recordings from the AALAS 62nd National Meeting are available for purchase through AALAS On Demand (http://aalas.sclivelearningcenter.com). Purchase your access today and experience all that AALAS On Demand has to offer, including up to 100 recorded hours of educational content, audio sessions synchronized to PowerPoint™ slides, downloadable MP3s, and 24/7 availability to learn from the comfort of your home or office.

JAALAS in Top 100 for Full-text Downloads

According to Ingentaconnect, JAALAS ranks in the top 100 out of more than 15,000 titles for number of full-text downloads.

For the period September 1, 2011 to September 30, 2011:

• Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science ranks 26th with 2747 downloads.
• Comparative Medicine ranks 30th with 2572 downloads.

 Other statistics to note:

• Comparative Medicine ranks 32nd with 6241 table-of-content views.
• Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science ranks 78th with 3756 table-of-content views.

Social Media and Laboratory Animal Science

This is the PowerPoint file from the AALAS National Meeting session "Social Media and Laboratory Animal Science." You're welcome to download the slides for use at your Branch, department, or business.

Social Media Overview

View more presentations from Chris Lyons.

TX Branch Helping Those Who Lost Homes to Fire

AALAS member Jeanette Pearson from the Texas Branch of AALAS reported: "Recently, we found out that 14 people who work for MD Anderson Bastrop and Smithville lost their homes to the wildfires." To provide temporary relief, an MD Anderson Caring Fund has been established. TBAALAS has posted information on their website about how to donate.

Try the AALAS Mobile Website for the National Meeting

We created a beta mobile website for you to try out this year at the AALAS National Meeting. You can find general information, education sessions, exhibitor booth numbers and categories, and maps of the convention center and Marriott hotel.

Scan this QR code with your smartphone to view the site:

AALAS National Meeting Update

Register Before September 16 To Avoid Lines in San Diego
September 16 is the last day to register online or by fax for the National Meeting. After this date attendees must register on site in the convention center. The price is $350 for members and $440 for nonmembers.

When registering for the meeting, don't forget to consider the best value registration package. This registration includes access to the National Meeting On Demand site which, when launched after the meeting concludes, will give you access to the sessions that were recorded. Prices go up if you register on site, so be sure to purchase your access to the site now!

In addition, if you plan on attending workshops, please register as soon as possible. Workshops are quickly filling up. To register, click here.


Housing/Shuttle Reservations
Friday, September 2 is the last day to book hotel rooms at the discounted AALAS rate. Attendees to the National Meeting must make their own housing reservations through the San Diego Housing Bureau. To book your reservations, click here.

Shuttle service has been arranged for attendees of the AALAS National Meeting. To book service, please click here or call 1-800-blue-van and use code SMUKB. 

 
Educational Program
Start planning your itinerary today! Panel discussions, seminars, special topic lectures, technical trade presentations, and workshops have all been scheduled and can be viewed here.

Poster and platform abstracts are now available on the Itinerary Planner and will be printed in the September issue of JAALAS, as well as the Final Program.


Volunteers Needed
Facilitators are still needed to assist in most sessions during the meeting. Responsibilities vary  but often include passing out handouts, working with the moderator to ensure that the speaker can be heard at the back of the room, and helping attendees find seats. Facilitators do not introduce speakers.

Registration to the AALAS National Meeting is not waived for those who volunteer to serve as facilitators; however, your name does go into a drawing for a free registration to next year's meeting or for one of two $25 gift certificates to the AALAS Bookstore.  

For more information or to register, please click here.

We Are Looking for a Few Good Poster Judges!

Over 300 posters will be on display at the 62nd AALAS National Meeting in San Diego. If you would like to help judge a portion of these posters, please email John McCutchen at john.mccutchen@aalas.org by September 7. You’ll need to be available to attend a half-hour meeting at 1 p.m. on Monday, October 3 and also be available on Tuesday morning for approximately 1 to 2 hours for the actual judging.

Leadership Academy Set for AALAS National Meeting

Thank you AALAS Board of Trustees and Branch Presidents for your assistance in recruiting 50 nominees from 33 of our branches to attend the 2011 Leadership Academy. This equates to 72% of our active branches being represented. The following  branches will have members in the 2011 Leadership Academy:  Appalachian, Arizona, Central Ohio, Central Pennsylvania, Chicago, Delaware Valley, Florida, Kansas City,  Kentucky, Louisiana, Metro New York, Michigan, Mid South, Mile High, Minnesota, National Capital Area, New England, New Jersey, Northern Mountain, Northern Rocky Mountain, Oklahoma, Oregon, Palms to Pines, Research Triangle, San Diego, Southeastern, Southern California, Southern New England, Southern Wisconsin, Texas, Three Rivers, Upstate New York and Washington.

2011 AALAS Election Results

Congratulations to the newly elected national AALAS officers:

Vice President-Elect 
Scott A. Mischler, DVM, PhD, DACLAM

District 1 Trustee
Tracy A. Lewis, BS, MBA, CMAR, RLATG

District 2 Trustee 
Deyanira I. Santiago, BS, MBA, RLATG
Laura H. Mistretta, BS, MBA, LATG (Alternate)

District 3 Alternate Trustee 
Christine McNickle, BS, LATG

District 4 Trustee 
Christopher S. King, DVM, DACLAM

District 4 Alternate Trustee
Catherine J. Bernstein, MS, CMAR, RLATG

District 6 Trustee
Terrie L. Grove
Cherylann Gieseke, LATG (Alternate)

District 7 Trustee
Karen S. Montijo, BS, MBA, CMAR, RLATG

How to Search Online for AALAS Members

A reminder that you can search online for AALAS members. Once you log in, simply click on the Advanced Search link. The system only allows AALAS members to perform searches.

How to Save $150 on National Meeting Session Recordings

If you're an AALAS member, register for the AALAS National Meeting using the Best Value selection, and you'll save $150 compared to the 2010 cost for session recordings.

Housing Open for AALAS National Meeting

Reserve your room now for the AALAS National Meeting in San Diego.

District 5 Meeting

The Southern Ohio Branch of AALAS hosted the District 5 Conference this year. Thanks to the supportive vendors and to the hard work of the conference committee for the solid turnout, informative sessions, and fun events!

Sharon Keys, 2011 District 5 Conference Chair
Tim Baechle, Fundraising Chair
Jefferson Childs, Publicity Chair
Dave Dietrich, Allied Trades Chair
Rachael Fitzpatrick, Registration Chair
Tamara Goodman Kuhel, Program Chair
Lois Shuler, Local Arrangements Chair
Kathy Wright, Poster Chair

Visitors from South Africa

Dr. Merida Roets, left, and Dr. Claudia Cordel, right, both from South Africa, spent the day at AALAS national headquarters in Memphis learning more about all aspects of laboratory animal science from staff and AALAS Executive Director, Dr. Ann Turner.

Dr. Roets is a principal of Scientific Roets which assists local, district, provincial and national authorities and other development agencies to achieve their community and enterprise development goals. Dr. Cordel is a veterinarian at ClinVet, a CRO in Bloemfontein.

2010 Online Journal Article Stats

Scientific articles from AALAS' journals, Comparative Medicine and JAALAS, are hosted by IngentaConnect. Full text downloads for 2010 have increased by 228% over the 2009 downloads. Other usage statistics for 2010:

• 47,897 full-text downloads
• 181,862 abstract pages viewed
• 86,240 contents pages viewed

Most popular articles in 2010 (click on image to increase size):

IT Programming Specialist Job Position at AALAS

AALAS has an opening for an IT Programming Specialist

Organizational Relationships

Reports directly to and receives primary direction from the Associate Executive Director. Provides superb information technology services for the public, AALAS employees and members.

Position Summary

Responsible for performing the physical, technical and administrative tasks involved in all aspects of programming and computer related functions for AALAS.

Education / Experience / Job Specifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field plus 2 years experience desired. Additional experience may substitute for degree.
• Proven proficiency with ASP.NET, VB.NET, C# and T-SQL.
• Familiarity with Crystal Reports, ASP.NET MVC, XML web services, jQuery a plus.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work professionally with teams and independently
• Must have excellent attention to detail, organizational and multi-tasking skills.
• Must have initiative, good judgment, be able to assume responsibility, work independently, without close supervision, and cooperatively with other employees and the public.
• Must be able to read, write and understand directions.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

• Use the membership database custom APIs to program and integrate ecommerce and other functionalities and features into websites and other online platforms managed by the association.
• Use customization tools to modify membership database based on staff requirements.
• Create and modify data universes for database Data Analyzer program.
• Assist, as directed, in ASP.net programming for the AALAS Learning Library and other online projects and platforms.
• Collaborate with staff to gather requirements to determine business needs.
• Provide support for, and assist staff responsible for, updating web content.
• Write, modify, and debug database reports and views as requested.
• Provide technical support to users of AALAS’ online products and services.
• Troubleshoot and solve programming-related issues with all AALAS websites and/or other online systems.
• Research, recommend--and upon approval--implement innovative IT solutions that provide cost effective solutions that keep AALAS current with technology trends, and that increase productivity, efficiency, and revenue.

Secondary Functions and Responsibilities

• Provide hardware/software troubleshooting backup support for staff.
• Work with the IT Specialist to maintain appropriate documentation of reports and other technical processes.
• Other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions

• AALAS is a non-smoking, office environment.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to handle, or feel; and talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to walk; stand; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, or crouch. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision. The employee must be able to analyze and interpret data.
• The employee must be able to perform lifting up to 40 pounds, bend or squat routinely, and occasionally work with arms above shoulder level; ability to lift, carry or otherwise move and position objects weighing up to 75 pounds.
• Limited travel

Employee Benefits

• Personal time off (PTO)
• Life, Health, Dental insurance
• Section 125 Cafeteria Plan
• Long Term Disability
• Retirement Plan
• Voluntary benefits

To apply, please email resume to Chris Lyons.

Petition Deadline Is April 1 to Run for Trustee/Alternate

April 1, 2011 is the deadline to submit nominating petitions to run for open trustee and alternate trustee positions. After logging into the AALAS website, nominating petitions and instructions are found here.

To be added to the ballot, candidates must provide at least 25 valid AALAS national member signatures from within their district and meet the eligibility requirements. The requirements are to be an AALAS national member in good standing for the past five consecutive years; have served in branch leadership and/or on a district, regional, or national committee during the past five years; be able to make a three-year commitment to leadership; and reside in district of representation as designated by the voting contact address.

Open positions for the 2012-2014 terms are District 1 trustee, District 2 trustee, District 4 trustee and alternate trustee, District 6 trustee and alternate trustee, and District 7 trustee. All terms begin October 7, 2011, at the close of the 2011 National Meeting in San Diego.

Verify Membership Information To Vote in Election

To vote in the 2011 election, no later than April 5, make sure your AALAS national membership is current and verify that we have your unique, personal email address no later than April 15. Please note that generic email addresses, such as "info@," are not valid for the election. A unique, personal email address is necessary to ensure the validity and security of online voting. You can check the email address we have on file by logging in to the AALAS website and clicking Edit Profile.

Your election email address is private and will not be used for other purposes unless you select it as your primary address and/or for directory use. If you do not have a personal email address that you want to share with us, you can create an email address through services like Gmail or Yahoo.

Feb 1 Deadline for VP-Elect Nominations

February 1 is the deadline to submit vice president-elect nominations. Candidate packets and instructions are available on the AALAS website in the leadership section. Candidates must meet the AALAS bylaws requirements and be able to fulfill the job responsibilities and travel commitments as outlined in Section 4-8:

• Be an AALAS national membership in good standing for the past 5 consecutive years.
• Have participated on either a national AALAS committee in the past 5 years, served as an officer or board member for an affiliate organization during the past 5 years, or served as chair on an AALAS national committee or on the AALAS BOT within the past 8 years.
• Be able to make a 4-year commitment to leadership.
• Vice president-elect is the first year of a four-year commitment, followed by vice president, president, and past president.

April 1, 2011, is the deadline to submit nominating petitions to run for open trustee and alternate trustee positions. Additional information and criteria to be eligible to run can be found here (you'll have to log into the AALAS website).

Make sure you can vote online in 2011 by ensuring that your AALAS national membership is current and that AALAS has a valid, unique email address for you. To be eligible to vote, your membership must be active by April 1. To check your status and renewal date, log in to the AALAS website or call the AALAS office at 901-754-8620.

New Shipping Rates Take Effect February 1

Shipping charges are based on your total order amount and the country to which the order will be shipped. There is a minimum shipping charge when you order only free items, except for public outreach products (those with product numbers beginning with 08-). AALAS covers the shipping costs for public outreach materials when they are ordered with purchased items; you will still be responsible for shipping charges on the purchased items. For orders of public outreach materials only, shipping costs are supported by the AALAS Foundation. See the chart below for the new prices effective February 1.

National Meeting Abstract and Topic Submission Site Open

On behalf of program chair Dr. Patricia Foley and AALAS president Bob Dysko the 2011 National Meeting Program Committee would like to encourage you to submit proposals for abstracts, seminars, special topic lectures, panel discussions, technical trade presentations, and workshops for the 2011 meeting in San Diego.

Submissions will again be handled online starting today, January 7. Those of you who submitted topics or abstracts in the past year received a system email with your password and username. New users must create an account.

Neurodegenerative diseases is this year's spotlight forum. Those with backgrounds and expertise in research, clinical care, management, and husbandry of animal models used to study these diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and Lou Gehrig's Disease) are especially encouraged to submit.

Read the call for abstracts for complete requirements for submitting abstracts and proposing educational session topics. The deadline for topic submissions is March 15, 2011, while the deadline for abstract (posters and platforms) submissions is June 1.

Topic submissions should be designed specifically for one of the following formats: 2-hour, 45-minute seminar, 1.5-hour panel discussion, 1-hour special topic lecture, 4-hour workshop, or 20-minute technical trade presentation. If you choose to submit a topic, please note that you must include the title, brief description, and names and contact information for any suggested panelists, speakers, or leader. Once the submission undergoes review and acceptance, any substitution or addition of speakers must be approved by the Program Committee.

Abstract submissions will be considered for either a platform or poster presentation format. Platform presentations are typically 10-15 minutes in length and are grouped together by general category. If you choose to submit an abstract, please follow the guidelines and provide complete information. This will greatly assist the Program Committee in their review process and enable the correct assignment of your abstract to the appropriate program session.

Exhibitor Prospectus Online

The priority point application deadline of February 7 is only a few weeks away, so now is the time to begin thinking about exhibiting at the 2011 National Meeting. Browse the exhibitor prospectus to view diagrams of the hall, specs, prices, sponsorship opportunities, and application forms. The exhibit hall will again be open Tuesday through Thursday, October 4-6. For additional information about exhibiting at the AALAS National Meeting, please contact Christy Miller.