About Us

District 8 of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) is one of eight AALAS District divisions in the United States. District 8 encompasses Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. AALAS District 8 has within it's boundaries 10 of the nearly 50 affiliated Branches of the Association. Each Branch covers a general geographical area, however membership is not regionally restricted and anyone professionally concerned with the production, care, and study of laboratory animals is welcome to join any one or as many Branches as desired. Each District has 2 elected members to the AALAS Board of Trustees who, along with the Officers, serve as the governing body of AALAS.

The Trustees for District 8 are: Tom Chatkupt, with Emily Slocum as Alternate.

The AALAS District 8 holds an annual educational meeting in the spring of each year. The meeting was rotated between the Branches to allow for greater participation by the local Branch members but there had been a continual decline in attendance. The Branches of District 8 entered into a cooperative agreement in 2005 with the formation of the District 8 Council whose sole charge is to support, promote, and insure continuation of the annual District 8 meeting.

The district has been divided into geographic zones:

  • Northwest: Montana, Oregon, & Washington
  • Capitol Bay Area: Sacramento Valley, & Northern California
  • Desert: Arizona, Idaho, Mountain West
  • South Pacific: Hawaii, San Diego, & Southern California

The branches in each zone hold the district meeting together dividing the work and funds amongst themselves on the following schedule:

  • Capitol Bay Area: 2009 - South San Francisco, CA
  • Desert: 2010 - Tempe, AZ
  • 2011 - National AALAS in San Diego, CA
  • South Pacific: 2012 - Irvine, CA
  • Northwest: 2013 - Portland, OR
  • Capitol Bay Area: 2014 - S San Francisco, CA
  • 2015 - National AALAS in Phoenix, AZ
  • Desert: 2017 - Salt Lake City, UT
  • South Pacific: 2018 - Newport Beach, CA
  • Northwest: 2019 - Seattle, WA
  • Capitol Bay Area: 2020 - Sacramento, CA - cancelled for covid
  • Desert: 2021 - Tucson, AZ - cancelled for covid

Future District 8 Annual Meetings

South Pacific: 2022 - Southern CA
2023 - National AALAS in Salt Lake City, UT
Northwest: 2024 - TBD
2025 - National AALAS in Long Beach , CA
Capitol Bay Area: 2026 - TBD
Desert: 2027 - TBD