Several attempts were made before 1984 to form an AALAS chapter in New Jersey. On November 4, 1984, the first organizational meeting of the proposed New Jersey Branch of AALAS was held at the Rutgers University Alumni Faculty Club. The purpose of the chapter would be to involve animal technicians in AALAS matters, public relations, and the education of animal care personnel at all levels.

A dinner meeting was held on April 9, 1985 at Evelyn's Seafood Restaurant in Sommerville, New Jersey. The guest speaker was the President of AALAS and more than 160 people attended and became members of the Branch.

Meetings are held the third Tuesday of every other month beginning in September and ending in May. Within a few years the New Jersey Branch was invited to become a participant in the Joint Symposium which was held in June in Philadelphia, New Jersey or New York, and renamed the Tribranch Symposium.

The New Jersey Branch of AALAS was welcomed as an AALAS branch at the annual meeting in 1985.

For a more complete history, see the 50th Anniversary Volume of the National Association for Laboratory Animal Science.