Department of Comparative Medicine

Lesley A. Colby

Professor, Senior Director of Animal Resources and Operations, and Director, UW BSL3/ABSL3 Facility

D.V.M., Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine 1996
M.S., Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine 1997
Diplomate, ACLAM 2005

E: lacolby@uw.edu

1705 NE Pacific Street, Box 357340
Seattle, WA 98195-7190
206-685-1020

About Dr. Colby:

Lesley Colby, DVM, MS, DACLAM is the Department of Comparative Medicine’s (DCM) Senior Director of Animal Resources and Operations and Director of the University of Washington’s BSL3/ABSL3 Select Agent Facility.  As Senior Director of Animal Resources and Operations she is responsible for the safe,  efficient, and financially responsible operations of DCM’s animal facilities, including departmental oversight of vivarium design, construction, and renovations.  As Director of the University’s BSL3/ABSL3 Facility she is responsible for all aspects of the facilities’ maintenance and operations in support of both the conduct of research and animal welfare.  In addition, Dr. Colby is active in the instruction of DCM’s Postdoctoral Veterinary Residents as well as the University’s community of animal users through didactic instruction and experiential learning platforms.

Dr. Colby earned her BS in Animal Science from Virginia Tech and completed a dual DVM/MS program at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM).  After working as a small animal practitioner in Montana, she returned to VMRCVM to complete a post-doctoral training program in Laboratory Animal Medicine.  She then joined the faculty at the University of Michigan’s Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine for 10 years during which time she served as Assistant Director as well as Director of their clinical laboratory animal medicine post-doctoral training program and Director of the University’s BSL3/ABSL3 Select Agent Facility.

Dr. Colby is board certified by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and a member of AAALAC International’s Council on Accreditation. She frequently collaborates with health and safety professionals in numerous aspects of her position and has special interest in facility design, biological containment, teaching, and occupational health and safety.

Complete Bibliography

Selected Publications

  1. Institutional Oversight of Occupational Health and Safety for Research Programs Involving Biohazards. Dyson MC, Carpenter CB, Colby LA.  Comp Med 67(3):192-202, 2017.
  2. Considerations for Infectious Disease Research Studies using Animals. Colby LA, Quenne LE, Zitzow LA. Comp Med 67(3):222-231, 2017.
  3. Applied Institutional Approaches for the Evaluation and Management of Zoonoses in Contemporary Laboratory Animal Research Facilities. Colby LA and Zitzow LA.  ILAR Journal,  doi: 10.1093/ilar/ily016, 2018.
  4. Institutional Responsibilities for Safety Oversight in Animal Research Programs. Dyson MC, Greer W, Colby LA.  Appl BioSaf. 23(3):122-129,
  5. “Zoonosis” in Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition, (eds. Fox, Anderson, Loew, Quimby), Elsevier. Otto G, Colby LA, Fox J. August 2015.
  6. “Occupational Health and Safety” in Patient Derived Tumor Xenograft Models: Promise, Potential, and Practice,” (eds. Uthamanthil and Tinkey), Academic Press.  Colby LA, Corwin E.  October 2016.
  7. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction, 5th edition, Wiley, 2019.  Colby LA, Kennedy L, Nowland M.  ISBN-10: 1119489598,  ISBN-13: 9781119489597