Laboratory Animal Sciences 2019

Szczepan is a Comparative Medicine Veterinarian & Scientist turned "technology geek" who currently heads the Global Emerging Technologies (GET) within Comparative Medicine at Novartis. In this position, Szczepan leads integrated enterprise strategy for digital and non-digital ... technologies. Specifically, the non-digital GET initiative focuses on stakeholder engagement to understand current status and application, identifies adaptation hurdles and develops qualification pathways for Microphysiological Systems (MPS) technologies. In parallel, the goal of the digital GET initiative is coordination and prioritization of the development and integrated use of patient-relevant and translatable digital biomarkers for efficacy and safety studies and Extended Reality (XR) technologies for telemedicine. Szczepan has played instrumental roles in founding and leading the Global Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) MPS and Digital Biomarkers Groups. Szczepan is a graduate of the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He completed his residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine and received a Master of Science degree in Comparative Medicine from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Szczepan began his career at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center as a Research Associate where he was recruited to develop the first canine embryonic stem cell lines and to collaborate on the development of novel canine transplantation protocols to eliminate graft-versus-host disease. Prior to joining Novartis, Szczepan held multiple start-up and faculty positions and served on multiple boards. Currently, he is serving as a as a vice-chair of the IQ Microphysiological Systems (MPS) Affiliate and leads the IQ MPS Affiliate Regulatory Outreach Group. He is a Medical & Scientific Advisory Board member at the Canines-N-Kids Foundation and serves as an AAALAC ad hoc specialist and a Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods (SACATM) ad hoc member. Szczepan is the founding member of the North American 3Rs Collaborative (NA3RsC) MPS Initiative and a Boston Innovation Advisory Council member.

Dr. Nicole Duffee is the Director of Education & Scientific Affairs for the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science. She leads the AALAS Learning Library development team for the online learning platform and courses in laboratory animal science. She oversees and ... contributes to print and digital publications of AALAS educational resources. She directs the Grants for Laboratory Animal Science program. Dr. Duffee is a former president of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Training Exchange (LAWTE).

Dr. Perret-Gentil currently serves as University Veterinarian and Director of the Laboratory Animal Resources Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is also the Attending Veterinarian for XENOSTART, Crown Scientific and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin ... He is President and Founder of Perret-Gentil Lab Animal Veterinary Services. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, a Residency and Master of Science in Comparative Medicine and a Fellowship in Experimental Minimally Invasive Surgery. Past Veterinary Medicine employment has been with the United States Army, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Merck, University of Florida and Texas Tech HSC. As of the October 24, 2020, Dr. Perret-Gentil has published or contributed to 66 papers, articles, chapters and abstracts. He has presented 419 special presentations at various academic and research institutions in the US and abroad, as well as national and international meetings. He serves as ad hoc Specialist for AAALAC International (having conducted 39 site visits), and as consultant to several governments, biotechnology industry and other institutions of higher education in the United States and abroad. Dr. Perret-Gentil has assisted his current institution as well as others as consultant to prepare and obtain accreditation from AAALAC International in the US and abroad.

Letty Medina earned her BS in Biology at the University of Notre Dame and her DVM degree from Texas A&M University. She completed her Laboratory Animal Medicine post-doctoral training at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory ... Animal Medicine (ACLAM). She is currently the Director of Animal Research & Compliance at AbbVie Inc. Her primary responsibilities are to ensure that AbbVie adheres to all animal regulations, adopts the most ethical animal research practices, and continues to enhance an ethical culture for animal research with innovative 3Rs research and other initiatives. She is the past chair of the 3Rs Leadership Group of the Innovation and Quality Consortium. She is dedicated to promoting more transparency about ethical animal research to ensure public understanding and support for biomedical research. She is a frequent speaker about animal welfare compliance and the 3Rs at national meetings.

Dr. Klas Abelson obtained a degree of Master of Medical Sciences in 2001 and a PhD in Comparative Medicine and Lab Animal Science in 2005, from Uppsala University, Sweden. The area of his research was originally focused on the development of experimental models for studying pain ... pharmacology in rats, but turned more and more towards the welfare of the animals. At present, he is working on the development of objective measurement of pain and stress in rats and mice, together with the development of novel methods for alleviating pain and stress in this species. During the years 2006-2008, he was an Assistant Professor in Lab Animal Science at the Medical Faculty of Uppsala University. In 2009, he moved to the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, where he is currently working as an Associate Professor. Besides conducting research in animal welfare, he is responsible for a wide range of teaching and training activities in lab animal science and animal experimentation for post-graduates, PhD students, master students, and animal technicians at the faculty.

Jeff Everitt received his DVM from Cornell University and then completed a residency in comparative pathology at the University of Pennsylvania and a postdoctoral research appointment at the University of Illinois. Dr. Everitt served for 17 years on the senior scientific staff of ... the CIIT Centers for Health Research where he attained Senior Scientist status. At CIIT he led the animal care and use program as well as a multidisciplinary research program that examined the health effects of inhaled fibrous particulate. He currently serves as a Director of Comparative Biology and Medicine at GlaxoSmithKline and as an Adjunct Professor of Pathology at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, NC. Dr. Everitt is board certified in anatomic pathology (ACVP) and in laboratory animal medicine (ACLAM) and is a Fellow in the International Academy of Toxicologic Pathologists (FIATP). He has served in leadership positions in multiple professional organizations in laboratory animal science, pathology and toxicology during the past twenty years. Dr. Everitt has lectured and published widely on best practices for the control of variability and bias in the conduct of in vivo studies.

He obtained his veterinary medicine degree at the University of Zaragoza (Spain) in 1990, and was for 17 years Director of the Laboratory Animal Services at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. In parallel, between 2003 and 2008 he was also a member of the Association ... for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC International) Council on Accreditation. He is member of the Ethics Committee of the University of Navarra since its creation in 1997 (now as external member). Current position In 2008 he joined AAALAC International Senior Director and Director of European Activities. Since 2013 he is Senior Director for Europe and Latin America. Other related activities He served first as Secretary (2002-2008) and later as President (2009-2010) of the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA). Since 2011 he is member of the ICLAS Governing Board Since 2010 he is representative of the Spanish Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SECAL) to the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS). Since 2010 he is member of the Council of Management of the journal Laboratory Animals Ltd. and since 2011, member of the Executive Committee. He is Past-President of SECAL, the Spanish Assocation for Laboratory Animal Science.

Debra Hickman, DVM, MS, DACLAM, is the Director of the Laboratory Animal Resource Center at Indiana University Medical School in Indianapolis, IN. She obtained her veterinary degree and completed residency training in laboratory animal medicine at the University of Illinois at ... Urbana. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and been active in leadership positions for AALAS, ASLAP, and ACLAM and is currently an ad hoc site visitor for AAALAC, International. Dr. Hickman leads an active research laboratory that identifies possible improvements to husbandry practices and evaluates the effect of these changes on the welfare of animals that are used in biomedical research.

Christian Lawrence is currently the Manager of the Aquatic Resources Program (ARP) at Boston Children's Hospital (BCH). ARP administers the zebrafish program at BCH, which is one of the largest and most active of its kind in the world. Mr. Lawrence also serves as a faculty ... member for the Health and Colony Management of Laboratory Fish course at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, and was a Fulbright Specialist at the Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Medicine in Safed, Israel in 2013. He is co-author of The Laboratory Zebrafish, and has written a number of scientific publications on zebrafish biology and culture.

Andrea Gay is Regional Sales Manager for the Southern Territory of the U.S. as well as the International Sales Representative for The Andersons Bedding Products. Andrea graduated from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, IL with a bachelor's degree in elementary education and ... learning disabilities. Andrea has been involved in the Lab Animal Industry for 13 years. Prior to working for The Andersons Bedding Products, Andrea worked at Shepherd Specialty Papers. Andrea joined The Andersons Bedding Products in 2008 as Regional Sales Manager. Andrea is a member of National AALAS, LAMA, ATA, District IV and District 7 branches of AALAS, as well as the IAT and ANZLAA international branches. Andrea serves on the Exhibitor Advisory Council for AALAS and also serves as the Awards Chair for the Research Triangle Branch Executive Council in North Carolina, as well as being a member of The National Weights and Measures Southern Branch. Andrea has published an article in The Enrichment Record on Nesting & Thermoregulation.

Dr. Stacy Pritt is the Director of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Office at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. In this capacity, she oversees regulatory compliance for one of the largest animal research programs in ... the United States. Dr. Pritt holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the California State Polytechnic University at Pomona and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University. Additionally, she holds a Master of Science degree in Managerial Science and a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management. She is a Certified Professional IACUC Administrator (CPIA) and a charter diplomate by examination of the American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW). During her career, Dr. Pritt has held numerous positions in both academia and industry. She has been on faculty at the Harvard Medical School where she served as Associate Director for Animal Care, Training, and Operations and was the Director of Regulatory Compliance and Animal Welfare at Covance, Inc. Dr. Pritt is a nationally recognized authority on animal program regulatory compliance including IACUC operations, adherence to federal regulations and policies, maintenance of Good Laboratory Practice procedures as dictated by the US FDA, and managing the audit process. She regularly speaks to research audiences across the United States and has authored more than 25 publications on management and regulatory compliance, including book chapters. In 2012 she was awarded the TurnKey Animal Facility Leader of the Year Award and in 2014 she served as Program Chair for the University of Texas System IACUC Symposium focusing on process improvement. In 2015, she was Awarded the Ron Orta Memorial Award for the most outstanding presentation at a meeting of the Laboratory Animal Management Association and the Founder's Award for exceptional education in the field of laboratory animal science by the Laboratory Animal Welfare Training Exchange. She serves in numerous leadership positions within organized veterinary medicine.