Corporate Funded Projects

The AALAS Foundation accepts funding that is designated to support specific projects and programs. This funding is either gifted or pledged, usually over five years.

Kids 4 Research Web Site (2005)

Funding: Charles River Laboratories (renewed funding of $100,000)
Requestor: American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
Program: Funded with a renewed $100,000 grant from Charles River Laboratories, the web site (www.kids4research.org), provides age-appropriate material, including educational games, activities and graphics. It is widely used by teachers and others to stimulate interest and understanding about laboratory animal science. Look for updates and a fresh new look to the website later this year.

"Accept the Challenge to Care" Careers in Laboratory Animal Science: video/DVD (2005)

Funding: Novartis Pharmaceuticals & Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Inc.(joint funding of $80,000)
Requestor: American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
Program: This video module, funded by an $80,000 joint grant from Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Inc., includes a video, student brochure, and curriculum guide designed for teachers at the middle and high school level. The video promotes career opportunities in the field of laboratory animal care and biomedical research. It is available to schools at no cost through AALAS. Thousands of these video modules have been distributed at science teacher meetings over the past few years. The original video was created using $50,000 funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

AALAS Learning Library (ALL) Web-Based Training (2004)

Funding: Merck & Company, Inc
Requestor: AALAS
Program: Funded by a $125,000 grant from Merck & Company, Inc., AALAS is developing web-based training courses on animal research biomethodologies for common laboratory animal species on the AALAS Learning Library (www.aalaslearninglibrary.org). The course design will focus on delivering brief vignettes with streaming video presentations, which will allow learners to focus on training related to specific procedures of interest. A series of five dog biomethodology courses have been developed, including Working with the Laboratory Dog: Basics; Urinary Catheterization; Venous Catheterization; Endotracheal Intubation; Injections & Blood Collection. The courses are complete except for final video editing and will be released spring 2007. A script for the Working with the Laboratory Rat course is in development. The course will cover topic areas such as regulatory requirements, routine care, animal identification, intravenous injection, blood collection, anesthetics & analgesics, clinical signs of illness, and euthanasia. The course will be structured similar to the Working with the Laboratory Mouse course that is currently on the AALAS Learning Library.

“Together for Life … Every Day of the Year” Classroom Calendar (2004)

Funding: Jointly funded by Millennium Pharmaceuticals ($15,000) and the AALAS Foundation ($15,000)
Requestor: AALAS Foundation
Program: A joint project of Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the AALAS Foundation, this full-color, two-sided 17”x33” calendar/poster is a beautiful, multi-purpose outreach tool for students and teachers in grades 6-10. The calendar’s objectives are to: Increase awareness of the benefits people and animals receive from medical research using animals; pique curiosity about current issues within the biomedical research field, and teach students more about laboratory animals and the magnificent contributions they have made to our lives. The 2006/2007 version now available for free through the AALAS Bookstore.

Public Outreach for School-Aged Children (2003)

Funding: Pharmacal Research Laboratories, Inc (renewed funding of $10,000)
Requestor: AALAS Foundation
Program: The AALAS Foundation uses these funds to support ongoing projects directly reaching students in the classroom such as posters, brochures, and activity and/or coloring books. The original public outreach program funded by Pharmacal provided materials to train AALAS members at local and district meetings to set up and conduct a public outreach program in their local schools or other venues.

Zoonosis Training (2001)

Funding: Elizabeth R. Griffin Foundation ($53,500)
Requestor: AALAS Foundation and American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
Program: AALAS and the AALAS Foundation partnered with the Griffin Foundation to provide readily accessible training via video/web training to research staff working with laboratory animals, as it relates to prevention of nonhuman primate-related zoonotic diseases. The training module uses monkey-borne B virus as an example of a zoonotic disease, with other agents of animal-borne transmissible diseases and allergies also covered. Videotaping and the narration were completed in January 2004 at the University of Texas Health Science Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The final product was completed in February and is now available in two formats, DVD or VHS, and is offered at no charge upon request within the US. The course Health Risks and Safety Procedures for Working with Nonhuman Primates went online on the AALAS Learning Library in March 2004 after the course was enhanced with content additions and images produced from the video footage.

CD-ROM Interactive Software Training (1998)

Funding: Merck & Company, Inc. ($100,000)
Requestor: AALAS Foundation
Program: With a $100,000 grant from Merck & Company, Inc., the CD-ROMs to accompany the ALAT Training Manual, the LAT Training Manual, and the LATG Training Manual were produced in 2000, 2003, and 2005 respectively. After the completion of the ALAT Interactive CD, the Educational Resources Committee (ERC) designed a new approach for this family of training manuals related to CDs. The CD- based training courses (referred to as Companion CDs) take an interactive approach to learning that allows individuals to work through the manual at their own speed; answer questions about each section; work through case studies, and review material as often as needed. The Companion CD format includes an audio-recording of the manual as a narration, and the audio tracks are used on the CD and will be used on the Web (LAT courses on the AALAS Learning Library). The ERC revised the ALAT Companion CD based on the Companion format and replaced the ALAT Interactive CD which was released in August 2004. Because of the availablity of volunteers to assist on the project, funds were available to develop a new version of the LATG Companion CD based on the 2006 revision of the LATG Training Manual. This will be available to AALAS members in late 2007.

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