On May 21st, the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) made an exciting announcement that it is updating the reporting period for the Annual Report in order to harmonize with the Annual Report required for the USDA (NOT-OD-20-109). This is a direct outcome of the 21st Century Cures Act (21CCA) and, notably, it is the …
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of our lives, despite whether we know anyone who has contracted the virus or not. From visits to the doctor to shopping for groceries, and working from home to furloughs and layoffs, it has affected us all. Plenty has certainly changed in the field of research as …
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that normal operations can be disrupted at any time to varying degrees as a result of completely unforeseeable or underestimated events. This is why animal care and use programs must have disaster and business continuity plans. But even the best-laid plans will never cover every scenario, …
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) released its official AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2020 Edition, an update to its 2013 Edition, in January 2020. OLAW issued its Notice of Intent to Seek Public Comments on Updated AVMA Guidelines for Euthanasia on January 21st, 2020, within which it is encouraging “PHS-Assured institutions to …
A Comprehensive Look at the Release of the 2020 Edition of AVMA Guidelines Read More »
Many of us have heard plenty about the 21st Century Cures Act (21CCA) at this point. For those who aren’t familiar yet, the 21CCA is a law that was enacted in 2016 authorizing billions of dollars in funding for, among many other things, significant efforts to eliminate bureaucratic red tape and reduce regulatory burden in …
2019 Was Kinda Nuts… The perpetually novel landscape of biomedical research is well suited to the dynamic environment of software development. The kinetic energy of both disciplines proves a challenging and rewarding space. In 2019, there were significant breakthroughs in the treatment of prostate cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, sickle cell anemia, and even the cantankerous kindergarten …
Another October has come and gone, which means that National AALAS and the TOPAZ User Symposium are done for another year! As always, AALAS was a great opportunity to meet new friends and catch up with old friends…some very old! It was a wonderful meeting for TOPAZ with lots of good contacts made. The User …
In a recent blog post, we mentioned the importance of having accurate census data and how the TOPAZ Mobile Census application is a key part of this picture. The Mobile Census application has been around, in one form or another, for over 20 years. For a while it was called, rather snappily, TOPAZ Tracks, complete …
TOPAZ Elements has numerous modules (13 at last count!) that can be used effectively in a variety of combinations. It is true to say, however, that the Census module (along with the Protocols module) represents a sort of “hub of the wheel.” The Census module allows you to create and manage the animals that are …
We’re getting close to that time of year again! TOPAZ will be at the 2019 National AALAS meeting in Denver, as always. We’ll be at booth 838, so stop by to chat about Elements or just to say “hi” (and grab a cool giveaway)! This year we are, once again, following AALAS with our annual …
