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*** Important Notice *** SOP Updates for U of T Animal Research Community  9/14/2021 Dear U of T animal user community,  Several SOPs have recently been updated and the notable changes are summarized below.  Housing Mice SOP: 5.11.0 Mouse & Rat Husbandry Procedures Consult SOP for more details of allowances for each cage type at each … Read More

*** Important Notice *** September 2021 COVID-19 Updates for U of T Animal Research Community 9/3/2021 Dear U of T animal user community,  Please see the following important COVID updates below.  Animal facility physical distancing and PPE requirements As per University policy, as of September 13th, all members of our community who come onto campus will be required to have proof of vaccination via UCheck. Physical distancing and PPE requirements to participate in activities on campus … Read More

OCTOBER 2021 Survey Monkey Results Great feedback from those who completed the survey. Our goal is to make improvements to the newsletter to attract the attention of our users and ensure the content is relevant, and of interest to our audience.  A few changes we plan to implement include information about UTSC and UTM facilities and, dedicate … Read More

OCTOBER 2021 – Video Roundup The COVID-19 pandemic meant that seminars were moved online. One benefit is that we can re-watch them! Here are a couple recent ones:    Dr. Jennifer Mitchell: Jennifer Mitchell  Dr. Chelsea Rochman: World Water Webinar with Professor Chelsea Rochman  The Alzheimer’s Society posted a video from Dr. Kaori Takehara-Nishiuchi where she outlines one of … Read More

Locked doors can be a hassle. You need to remember your fob and if you are lucky enough to remember it, you then need to use it while juggling the pile of items you are carrying with you. It can be annoying! So, why do we lock the doors in the BSF?   Ultimately, the locked … Read More

There are several projects underway in the aquatics facility to safeguard the animals and research programs.  Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) installation  Will provide a continual power to the zebrafish labs to protect the equipment where an unexpected power disruption impacts the aquatic life support systems. The UPS will minimize adverse effects on animal welfare and … Read More

New User Registration   You will be required to complete the following prior to facility access:   You will need to be added as an animal user to the Animal Use Protocol (AUP) by your principal investigator/supervisor. Please ensure that you have received a copy for review.   Obtain a fob from your department.    Complete the EHS Respiratory … Read More

Environmental conditions such as housing and husbandry have a major impact on the laboratory animal throughout its life and will thereby influence the outcome of animal experiments. However, housing systems for laboratory animals have often been designed on the basis of economic (minimal use of space and resources), and ergonomic (reduction of variation) aspects.  One possible way … Read More

Ethics in Animal Research & Teaching: Repository of SOPs, Guidelines, and Forms – Home (sharepoint.com)  This website format allows for improved search ability of documents compared to the old site.  Key features that improve search ability include:   SharePoint ‘clickable’ category icons to narrow search (e.g., SOP, Form, Animal Type)   Search bar (top of page) for keywords … Read More