Personnel involved in care, treatment, and use of animals by law must complete training in proper care and to minimize their use in teaching and research.

Hands-On Workshops and Classroom Instruction

Experts from Campus Animal Resources are available to instruct investigators and their project personnel on special procedures at no charge. 

• receive detailed demonstrations and individualized coaching
• get time to practice
• learn more efficient techniques, new surgical techniques, and ways to reduce or eliminate animal stress and increase safety

Additional Training

Check out training videos with best practices in handling specific species and in surgical techniques.

Leslie Pittsley, LVT, LATG, training coordinator for Campus Animal Resources, leads MSU's animal handling training program. She is a 2011 graduate of the Veterinary Technology program at Michigan State University and is a Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) through the State of Michigan. She also is a certified Laboratory Animal Technologist (LATG) through the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), which is the highest certification level for the assessment of technician competence.

She spent several years working for a large contract research organization (CRO), where she helped to develop and maintain a departmental training program. She has experience working with several species of animals and is proficient in a multitude of species-specific procedural trainings, from basic handling to sample collections and surgeries.  

For those that are working with rodents on campus, we encourage you to view and bookmark the NEW module (MSU NetID required for access).

Key points about this NEW module:

• Directs trainees to access two distinct areas of information – ‘Facility Orientation’ and ‘Contact with Rodents’
• Provides an interactive audible overview of working with biomedical rodents, with a detailed script available for download
• Includes embedded videos, pictures and resources that can be accessed at will, if relevant to the trainee
• Delivers self-paced, practical and customizable content with unlimited access to review topics as needed

For further information about biomedical animal training opportunities for you, your students and staff, or colleagues, please email CAR at cartrain@msu.edu.