Robert Madziak receives the Harry C. Rowsell Lifetime Achievement Award
Longtime UM animal care director recognized for decades of service
A longtime director of UM Central Animal Care Services (CACS) in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences is being recognized for his lifelong work to assure animal welfare in science.
Robert Madziak was honoured with the prestigious Harry C. Rowsell Lifetime Achievement Award in May for his advancements in science and medicine, while ensuring the highest standards of care for research animals.
“Receiving this award named for such an inspiring figure in our industry is an enormous honour and a wonderful recognition of my career, and the outstanding animal care team at UM,” Madziak told UM Today. “While human clinical trials and petri-dish research are important scientific tools, they have limits.”
“Understanding the impacts of diseases requires testing in living organisms, and the public needs to know that many medical advancements are only possible by using animals. Animals are only used when absolutely necessary and always as humanely as possible, in accordance with the national guidelines.”
The award from the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) recognizes the dedication of professionals who have made exceptional impacts in the ethical care of animals in Canadian science.
The award is named after the founder of the CCAC, Harry Rowsell, who introduced animal welfare guidelines that are now the standard in all Canadian research labs, based in peer review concepts incorporated by research programs around the world.
Madziak contributed to the CCAC as a member of its board of directors.
“Animal care technicians significantly contribute to scientific advancement at UM, and our training and breeding programs are among the best in Canada,” said Vice-President (Research and International) Dr. Mario Pinto.
“Robert’s dedication to ethical care and respect for the lives of animals in science has left an enduring legacy in our research community. I congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition.”
As a high school student back in 1973, Madziak took a summer job as an animal technician at the University of Western Ontario. He returned each summer through the completion of his undergraduate degree.
Upon graduation, he took a full-time animal technician position at Western and obtained master’s level certification through the Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Science (CALAS) in 1987. Madziak joined UM as the assistant director of CACS in 1990.
“We’ve always tried to do our part nationally by being a leader in developing programs that enhance animal welfare,” Madziak said. “At UM we’ve been leaders in developing breeding colony management and lab animal user training programs, as well as being early adopters of innovations like individually ventilated cage systems.
“It’s not only humane, but it also produces more stress-free animals, which leads to better research.”
Since taking on the role of director in 2002, Madziak has led the expansion of services including Genetically Engineered Model Services and new aquatic facility for zebra fish requiring specialized lighting and water treatment systems.
He led the CACS team through the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining care seven days per week when labs were forced to close and research programs paused. In 2020, his technical staff were honoured with a UM Award of Excellence.
Madziak also helped to establish new non-invasive research methods with the Small Animal Imaging Core Facility. The facility uses new imaging technologies to support academic and preclinical research.
“Bob has been a strong advocate for the ethical care of lab animals and national adherence to the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (Three R’s) ethical decision-making principle through his leadership at CALAS,” said Chris Taylor, who took over as director of CACS following Madziak’s retirement.
“Many of the practices he’s implemented and training programs he’s designed are now widely accepted in animal-based sciences around the world.”
Madziak joined the board of directors at CALAS in 1987 and became president in 1994. After his term as president, he was appointed a member representative to the council, where he contributed to training programs for research personnel across Canada.
Madziak was recognized with the Charles River Canada Award for outstanding contributions to the field of laboratory animal care by CALAS in 1998.
“I’ve pretty much devoted my life to ensuring the best possible care of lab animals and doing all we can to support our researchers,” said Madziak. “I feel really fortunate to have worked for so long with such a wonderful team at CACS and a great veterinary services team here at the U of M.
“Now that I’m retired, I will be spending my time with family. We have grandchildren in England and Churchill, so we’re looking forward to a lot of travel.”
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.