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LARC Services

 

 

LARC Services:  

 

LARC provides many services to the campus community, including, but not limited to:

 

Staff Responsibilities:

 

Husbandry Staff:

The responsibilities are as follows: Our animal technician staff is responsible for the everyday care, health monitoring, and sanitation of the UCSF animal facilities in order to support UCSF scientific research.  For the larger animals, they provide enrichment as well.  Our husbandry staff strives to set the highest standards in animal care

 
Activities commonly performed:
 
  • Daily checking of animals and cage conditions
  • Finding and reporting health checks to veterinary staff through automated scanning
  • Providing food and water (if not on micro-isolator racks)
  • Cage change
  • Cage counts and census of every room
  • Tagging cages for weaning, health checks, and mortality reports
  • Provide isoflurane anesthesia kits for check-out
  • Special requests*
  • Diagnostics: shipping samples to diagnostic laboratory for testing such as UC Davis, and IDEXX.*
  • Overcrowding separations*
  • Weaning*
  • Euthanasia*
  • Sanitizing cages and equipment
  • Physical maintenance and sanitation of the vivariam
  • Prepare animals to be exported or transported to another facility
  • Receiving and housing animal imports, including within facility transports
  • Ectoparasite testing - also available upon request *
  • Provide euthanasia equipment, such as carbon dioxide

* Indicates per recharge

 

Rodent Veterinary Nurse:

The rodent team staff is responsible for monitoring rodent health, and attending to any rodent health conditions that are in need of attention. The rodent team nurses act as a liaison between the husbandry care workers and the members of the research labs. Lab members with questions or concerns about their animals can contact the rodent health team nurses directly.  Rodent team nurses also perform sentinel bleeds, as well as microscopy and diagnostic test analysis.

Activities commonly performed:

Health monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment plans:

  • Health checks - following up on checks and prescribing treatments
  • Special requests *
  • Teeth trimming *
  • Prepare and provide medication *
  • Trainings such as teeth trimming, bleeding techniques, anesthesia training, mouse ear tagging
  • Serology collection (may be subject to recharge)*
  • Shipping samples for diagnostic testing
  • Necropsy
  • Room monitoring
  • Sentinel testing

           * Indicates per recharge

 

Veterinary Nurses:

The veterinary nursing staff works in conjunction with the veterinarians as well as the lab research staff to provide daily health monitoring and assessments of the research animals.

Activities commonly performed:
 
  • Clinical veterinary care
  • Research support
  • Diagnostics and necropsy support
  • Surgical preparation
  • Anesthesia/anesthesia support
  • Training staff
  • Regulatory compliance liaison
  • Administrative duties, such as scheduling procedures and help with ordering veterinary specific medical supplies and some medications.

 

Veterinarians:

The LARC veterinarians provide clinical services and support for the UCSF research animals. Veterinarians are also responsible to ensure the humane use and care of all animals.
 

Activities commonly performed:

  • Collaborative research with UCSF PI's.
  • Ensure animals are in good health and free of spontaneous disease.
  • Provide physical examination and diagnostic services.
  • Provide and administer all aspects of veterinary care of various species including:

             - Providing clinical veterinary medical care

            - Surgical, analgesic and anesthetic support

            - Advice to researchers on species needs

            - Necropsy and pathology assistance

           - Provide 24 hr. emergency veterinary care

           -  Review and edit research protocols

           - Training staff

Note: Any procedures provided by veterinary staff that are study related issues and supplies ordered through LARC are recharged.

  • GLP studies are NOT currently performed on animal studies at UCSF.