Natalie Pallandi Position/Title: M.Sc. Student email: npalland@uoguelph.ca Phone: Office: LinkedIn

I completed my B.Sc. in Animal Biology from the University of Guelph in 2021 and took a strong interest in animal welfare throughout my undergraduate degree. I decided to pursue an M.Sc. after completing a project on human and companion animal euthanasia with Dr. Georgia Mason. I joined the Mason lab in the Fall of 2021 for my coursework M.Sc. where my major project will focus on the relationship between housing conditions, stereotypic behaviour, and osteoarthritis in laboratory mice.

Expanding on the work done by Lindsey, Emma, and Aileen, the spines of middle-aged C57bl/6 and DBA mice from enriched and non-enriched housing with known levels of lifetime stereotypic behaviour will be assessed using computed tomography (CT) scanning. The objectives of this research are to determine if age-related osteoarthritis is reduced in mice from enriched housing compared to barren housing and to assess the severity of osteoarthritis in mice with histories of stereotypic and depressive-like behaviour. Future work in this area will focus on assessing age-related osteoarthritis in other body regions of these mice. Ultimately, this research aims to provide further insight into how enriched environmental conditions can promote optimal health and welfare in laboratory rodents.

I have spent time as a research assistant focused on the histology of dairy calves fed different milk replacers and as a veterinary assistant at Canada’s first Fear Free certified small animal practice. I spend most of my free time volunteering with horses and wildlife, and my goal is to apply the background I’ve gained in behaviour and welfare in my M.Sc. to my pursuit of a DVM.