AALAS CRB Meeting

The Certification and Registry Board Committee (CRB) met April 11-12 for their annual midyear meeting at the AALAS national office in Memphis. In addition to their usual certification business (audits, reviewing references, discussions on requirements, etc.) the CRB also held a standard setting study (cut-score analysis) with the help of AALAS' testing vendor Prometric.

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Construction at the AALAS Office

AALAS is in the middle of the construction phase of adding another 6,000 square feet to its existing 11,500 square-foot office. The added space will accommodate current and future growth projections for the organization.

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AALAS Exhibits at NSTA

AALAS and the AALAS Foundation recently exhibited at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) annual meeting and trade show in Boston, Massachusetts. This year's meeting attracted nearly 14,000 educators and attendees from across the United States and several international countries.

According to the AALAS Member Relations and Marketing Director John McCutchen: “AALAS distributed over 250 teacher/advisor packets to attendees from 41 states, Puerto Rico, and 7 international countries who visited us at the AALAS exhibit.”

Assisting McCutchen with the AALAS display at the meeting were Dr. Scott Perkins, Vice President of the AALAS Board of Trustees; Ms. Ms Marie Ortega, the AALAS District 1 Alternate Trustee; and Dr. Dr Alan Dittrich, the President of the Massachusetts Society for Medical Research.

The NSTA meeting and show is one of the many education and public outreach events AALAS and the AALAS Foundation exhibit at on an annual basis to promote awareness and career opportunities in laboratory animal science.

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You Don't Have to Wait Between Certification Exams

It is a common misconception that you must wait a full year after taking a technician certification exam before progressing to the next level. This is not the case. Each level of the exam has several different requirement combinations for education and work experience, and applicants must only meet one of the requirements at the level they are applying for.

Remember, you are not required to wait between exams—you can apply for an exam whenever you meet any one of the requirement combinations. Simply pick the eligibility requirement that best meets your needs and submit your application for the exam. You may find a complete list of requirements for all three exam levels at www.aalas.org under Technician Certification.

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Foundation Seeking Auctions Items for National Meeting

If you would like to donate an item for the AALAS Foundation silent and/or live auctions at this year’s National Meeting in Indianapolis, please send a brief description of the item, approximate value, and contributor contact info to April Turner at april.turner@aalas.org or by fax at (901) 334-5152.

Donations must be received in the AALAS national office by October 10, 2008, in order to be shipped to Indianapolis. You may also bring your item to the Foundation Booth in the Indianapolis Convention Center.

Contributors who inform the national office by September 1, 2008, of their intended auction donation will be recognized in the National Meeting Final Program.

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BOT Meeting Notice

The AALAS Board of Trustees Summer Business Session will be held June 20 and 22 in Memphis, Tennessee. Members are encouraged to contact their district trustees if they have any issues they want addressed. Board meetings, except for closed sessions, are open to AALAS members. AALAS does not reimburse expenses for attending the meeting.

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Free Brochure on Dealing with Grief

The Cost of Caring: Recognizing Human Emotions in the Care of Laboratory Animals brochure assists all members of the research team in providing suggestions and resources for managing human emotions in the care of laboratory animals.

The brochure describes some of the emotions that may be felt by staff members, discusses ways staff members may express grief, and provides suggestions for coping strategies that may be helpful in dealing with the grief.

This PDF brochure is available from the Free Downloads section of the AALAS website: www.aalas.org/bookstore/downloads.asp.

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Nobel Prize Winner to Speak at AALAS National Meeting

AALAS is pleased to announce that Nobel Prize-winning scientist Oliver Smithies will serve as keynote speaker for the National Meeting in Indianapolis. On October 8, 2007, Smithies was announced as co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Mario Capecchi of the University of Utah and Martin Evans of Cardiff University for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells.

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