Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory recognized by IACUC with Outstanding Animal Care Award

The Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory has been awarded the Outstanding Animal Care Award by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln.

The laboratory was honored with the award at the 25th anniversary of the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory open house in August attended by its peers and the people it serves.

The Outstanding Animal Care Award honors and recognizes individuals or groups that go above and beyond to ensure that animals are cared for ethically and humanely while following all procedures. The distribution of this award is carefully considered by the IACUC committee at the university and is not often awarded.

Kelly Heath, the director and attending veterinarian for the animal care program at UNL, noted the ranch crew’s practices of cleaning and maintaining facilities, timely record keeping, and cooperative approach no matter the situation.

“I never have to worry when I go to the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, and I can be confident that their crew has taken care of things,” Heath said.

The university recently underwent a peer review process with the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) to renew its accreditation with the association, making collaboration with other accredited institutions more accessible while enhancing the research stature of the university.

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The ranch was one of many animal research extension facilities evaluated for this review. The peer review group noted that the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory is the gold standard of what animal care facilities should look like.

This high praise led to the idea of awarding the GSL staff the Outstanding Animal Care Award. To the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory crew, receiving this award justifies the reasoning behind many of the tasks that they do on a daily basis.

John Nollette, the lead ranch technician, believes the protocol of the ranch has become second nature for the workers with cleaning up after every session, communicating with project leaders, and keeping concise and accurate records.

“We take a lot of pride in what we do, and it has kind of become our way of life,” Nollette said.

Beyond the daily tasks and protocols required of the ranch, research technologist Jacki Musgrave credits the success of the ranch to the team dynamic that has been established.

This dynamic makes it easier for the crew to hold themselves to a high standard and for each member to easily find their place and purpose on the team.

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Moving forward, the ranch plans to continue to rely on the protocols set in place and the culture they have built to find success and care for their cattle in a humane and ethical manner.

“You do these things every day, but to get recognized for it was pretty special for our crew,” Nollette said.