Biosafety at the Zebrafish Core Facility
The health and biosafety of our fish colony are our highest priorities. In accordance with international best practices, including recommendations from FELASA, we established and implemented a comprehensive biosafety program when the facility was founded.
Key elements of our biosafety strategy
- The Zebrafish Core Facility is physically divided into separate sections, with a barrier system that ensures controlled movement of personnel, users, equipment, and consumables.
- All newly imported animals are housed in a dedicated and physically separated quarantine unit to protect the health status of the main colony.
- Daily health inspections of all animals are performed by trained core facility staff.
- A designated veterinarian oversees the facility's biosafety procedures, health monitoring program, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Comprehensive health monitoring of sentinel fish, biofilms, and live feed cultures is conducted quarterly by accredited external laboratories.
Quality management and quality control
Maintaining rigorous quality standards is essential for generating reliable, reproducible, and scientifically robust results.
Our quality management system includes:
- All husbandry procedures are carried out exclusively by trained core facility personnel. Temporary staff, such as summer students, are not involved in animal care.
- Continuous computerized monitoring and control of critical water quality parameters.
- Standardization of all husbandry and experimental procedures to maximize reproducibility and consistency.
- Batch production and quality control of solutions, media, and reagents.
- Quality control testing of incoming supplies and deliveries.
- Continuous monitoring of animal health, welfare, and survival rates throughout all stages of development.
This integrated approach to biosafety and quality assurance ensures the highest standards of animal care while supporting the generation of reliable and reproducible scientific data.