Scott Unger

National Animal Care Program Coordinator - Coordinating animal care committee activities to ensure animals used in science are treated humanely and ethically under the Canadian Council on Animal Care policies and guidelines

Current research and/or projects

  • Coordinating the joint Fisheries and Oceans Canada / Environment and Climate Change Canada Great Lakes Laboratory for Aquatic Sciences / Water Science and Technology Directorate Animal Care Committee (GLLFAS / WSTD ACC)
  • Creating and coordinating the Prarie and Northern / Pacific and Yukon Laboratories for Environmental Testing Animal Care Committee (PN / PYLET ACC)
  • Liaising with the Wildlife and Landscape Science Directorate's two wildlife animal care committees covering eastern and western Canada
  • Liaising with the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) www.ccac.ca to ensure we are following best practices and are up to date with the latest policies and guidelines
  • Organizing meetings and all documentation for the GLLFAS / WSTD ACC and the PN / PYLET ACC
  • Writing and revising standard operating proceedures (SOPs) for the two animal care committees, as well as organizing authors to write and revise SOPs
  • Establishing contracts with external veterinarian consultants to support the animal care committees with expert advice and facility inspections

Education and awards

Alumni of the 2011 Banff Science Communications Program, a 14 day course led by Jay Ingram that accepts only 20 candidates each year and focusses on improving science communication skills

Environment Canada Citation of Excellence (Service to Clients) for work on Environment Canada's Science Alert (2013)

Environment Canada Instant Award for work on migrating and revising content for the National Water Research Institute website, December 2008

Environment Canada Action Network award for contributions to EC S&T online, March 2008

B.Sc. (Hons.) Microbiology, minor Biochemistry, Food Science certificate, University of Guelph, 2001

Key publications

Unger, S. 2010. Environment Canada's National Environmental Specimen Banks: Following a Chemical Trail from the Past. Environment Canada Science and Technology Research Impact Study Series: S&T into Action to Benefit Canadians. ISBN 978-1-100-16269-0.

Unger, S. 2010. State-of-the-art facility for aquatic science opens in Burlington. rECent S&T, Environment Canada's Science & Technology website.

Unger, S. 2009. Learning more about the North - the Canadian Cryosphere. rECent S&T, Environment Canada's Science & Technology website.

Unger, S. 2008. Microbial Source Tracking: New forensic approaches to identify sources of fecal pollution. Environment Canada Science and Technology Research Impact Study Series: S&T into Action to Benefit Canadians. ISBN 978-1-100-11301-2.

Unger, S. 2008. An Emerging Threat to Canadian Water Resources - Rock Snot? Canadian Water Resources Association - Water News. 27(2):19-20.

Unger, S. 2007. Emerging Threats - Pharmaceuticals Polluting Lakes and Rivers. Environment Canada Science and Technology online - S&T Leaders section.

Steele, M., S. Unger and J. Odumeru. 2003. Sensitivity of PCR detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis in raspberries, basil and mesclun lettuce. Journal of Microbiological Methods. 54(2):277-280.

Steele, M., S. Unger and J. Odumeru. 2002. Optimization of PCR Sample Preparation for Detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis in Raspberries. Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists. June 16 to 19, 2002. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Amp7.