Office for Research Staff Lead American Association for Laboratory Animal Science District 8 Meeting

A pair of Idaho State University employees took the lead in planning a gathering of nearly 300 of their counterparts. 

Recently, Mia Benkenstein, animal facilities manager, and Rhonda Buchanan, laboratory animal technician, helped to organize the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) District 8 meeting. Held over three days in Seattle, the annual event brought together animal research and care professionals from Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Benkenstein served as meeting co-chair and was responsible for finding speakers, securing the event spaces, coordinating travel and accommodations, and more. Meanwhile, Buchanan served as the program designer and committee member and handled designing the program for attendees, contacting vendors, organizing the vendor scavenger hunt, and other tasks. 

The AALAS “is a membership association of professionals employed around the world in academia, government, and private industry who are dedicated to the humane care and treatment of laboratory animals, as well as the quality research that leads to scientific gains that benefit people and animals.”