Technician service for the execution of research techniques with rodents

Please contact Mariana Scherem at marianas@savion.huji.ac.il

The technicians are graduates of a veterinary nursing course. The technicians are authorized to work with animals used for research and they are skilled in basic procedures such as:

•  Injections performed in various ways
• Bleeding from various sites
• Delivering PO material by gavage Needle
• Clinical tracking and weighing
• Anesthesia using various methods
• Euthanasia and organ removal

The technician can perform some procedures or all of the protocol for researchers who are interested in this service.

The technicians' work is conducted under the supervision of the Authority veterinarians.

The unit operates at the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine and Hadassah Hospital in Ein-Kerem. The unit enables high-quality surgical-research work with advanced equipment with various animal species (pigs, small ruminants, rabbits) and holds the animals for the requested period of time under the best conditions, while maintaining the ethics requirements, and ensuring excellent treatment.

The unit has extensive experience in cardiology, chest surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics, cannulation and more.
The means available to researchers include:

• Surgical stations - The unit has three surgical stations. Each station is equipped with an anesthesia machine, advanced monitoring equipment, including ECG for invasive and non-invasive blood pressure, capnograph, oximeter and more.
• Neuroimaging - The unit has neuroimaging equipment that includes fluoroscopy and X-ray. There is also an ultrasound machine on site.
• Research Equipment - Includes a variety of surgical / orthopedic equipment.

Blood and biochemistry gas meter and lung heart machine.

Rederivation service by C-section or Embryo-transfer for cleaning rodent colonies

Please contact Mariana Scherem at marianas@savion.huji.ac.il

The procedure is performed by the veterinary staff, The purpose of the procedure is to "clean" special strains of rodents (genetically modified and others) from pathogens. The original rodents are usually imported from laboratories around the world, and their microbial status does not allow them to be introduced into the SPF destination facilities. After these procedures, the "clean" animals fit the SPF units’ microbial status and the researchers may use them as founders of a breeding colony.

The service includes:

• Quarantine of the contaminated rodents - This unit, located separately from the other units of the animal facilities, allows holding the animals until the microbial cleaning.
• Performing cesarean sections or embryo-transfer in these strains; transferring newborns to "clean" nursing mothers (SPF level); holding them in an isolated and protected unit (IVC cages)