A Challenging Career:
Laboratory Animal Medicine
“Rodents, and Monkeys, and
Hares, Oh My!”
Name of LA vet presenting
Clinical Veterinary Medicine
Clinicians (small, large, mixed) may feel
a call to a new type of career challenge.
 Lab Animal field not understood well
because vet curricula doesn’t present
much on this career option.
 Never too late – may enter 20+yrs
 Join me on a walk through this exciting
career option!
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Laboratory Animal Medicine
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High demand
Diverse jobs
Good pay
Flexible hours
Specialty Boards (not required/encouraged)
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American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine
(ACLAM)
American Association for Laboratory Animal
Practitioners (ASLAP)
Becoming a Lab Animal Veterinarian
Where Do I Begin?
Training Route
2-3 years of training*
First author scientific publication
Eligible for ACLAM boards
Experience Route
6 years of full-time experience*
First author scientific publication
Eligible for ACLAM boards
*at time of application
Training Route
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Commonly – enter career through a
postdoctoral “residency” training
program.
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Clinical focus: learn LAM & administration
of running an animal research program.
Research focus (NIH): may pursue an MS
or PhD
Combination program: learn lab animal
medicine, administration and research.
Finding a Training Program
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Visit the ASLAP web site
http://www.aslap.org/OnePage.php
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Visit the ACLAM web site
http://www.aclam.org/education/training/location.html
Talk to a lab animal vet
 Do an externship…more info later.
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Salary for LAM Trainees
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Postdoctoral training stipends
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08 NIH scale starts at $39,264 – for no experience
but increase ~2-3K for each prior year of healthrelated training experience.
Non-NIH residency stipends may be higher.
Insurance varies with program.
Travel money varies for C.E. meetings.
May receive funds for graduate degree.
Veterinary school loan payments may be
deferred.
Where are these training*
programs?
* ACLAM approved
programs; Size of
program varies from 1-2
trainees up to 10-12
trainees!
Externships
Typically 2-12 weeks
 Usually summer programs but can be
throughout the year.
 Flexible experience depending on
interest.
 Room and board may be covered
(depends on program).
 May receive a small stipend for living
expenses.
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Externships
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Where?
 academia –
 LAM training programs
 Academic medical centers – medical schools,
graduate schools
 biotechnology & pharmaceutical companies
 NIH, USDA
 National Primate Research Centers (8)
Visit the ACLAM web site
http://www.aclam.org/print/externships_list_200702.pdf
Experience Route
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Part-time LAM job – good way to start.
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Many options at small colleges, contract
labs
Full-time lab animal job – ready to
plunge.
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Be ready to spend a lot of time reading &
learning to become a proficient LAM vet.
CAUTION: Always best to have an experienced
LAM mentor to learn from!
Experience Route (cont.)
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Must get involved in C.E. for best learning:
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American Assoc. for Lab Anim. Sci. (AALAS)
American Coll. Of Lab Anim Med (ACLAM)
American Soc of Lab Animal Practitioners (ASLAP)
Local branch AALAS meetings
Public Responsibility in Med & Research (PRIM&R)
IACUC 101 training
American Veterinary Medical Assoc. (LAM session)
Others – focus on surgery or research interests
2011 salary range: for all lab animal vets: $68K – $500K
Should I Pursue Board Certification?
ACLAM Diplomate
Board Certification
More job opportunities - but - more administration
Higher salary potential
Diplomate = expert
No Board Certification
Clinical emphasis;May limit some job opportunities
May limit salary growth
2011 Salary Range for ACLAM Diplomates,
all employers
2011 Salary Range for non-ACLAM vets,
all employers
0-5 yrs: $81 – 258K
0-5 yrs: $68-122K
5-10 yrs: $53-$500K
5-10 yrs: $66-203K
Lab Animal Work
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Extremely varied depending on program
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Large University
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Large diversity of species – mice to monkeys
Research areas span broad base
Many LAM vets and techs to work with/learn from.
Small College
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May be rodent only or few species
May be only one area of research – neuroscience
May work alone as consulting vet
Lab Animal Work
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Extremely varied depending on program
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Large Pharmaceutical Company
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Large diversity of species
Research areas focused on drug/device discovery
Many LAM vets and techs to work with/learn from.
Small Contract Laboratory
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May be rodent only or few species
Research depends on client base – toxicology, etc
May work alone or with one other vet
Department Structures
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Dept of LAM or Bioresources
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Lab animal veterinarians, technicians, animal care
staff.
Provide care for animals and manage animal
program: housing, feeding, costs, equipment.
May assist with animal study technical support.
Department of Comparative Medicine
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Similar but may have stronger focus on providing
veterinarians & technicians to participate in
collaborative research or lead research projects.
LAM/Bioresources
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Director – usually an ACLAM Diplomate
Operations/Animal Care Staff – oversee
animal care program – daily observations,
husbandry, environmental monitoring.
Veterinary Staff – provide health care,
preventative medicine program, technical and
surgical support.
Run a high quality lab animal program in
support of good science/investigator research
needs.
Comparative Medicine
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“One world, one health, one medicine.”
A field of study concentrating on similarities
and differences between veterinary
medicine and human medicine.
Study of biology and diseases of animals to
improve human and animal health.
Departments often support clinical care,
daily husbandry operations and research
collaboration.
Diverse career opportunities
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Clinical Veterinary Medicine
Administration
Research
Public Health – MPH
Teaching and Training
Pathology
Surgery
Regulatory oversight (IACUC)
Public education to thwart animal activism
Clinical Veterinary Medicine
Provides health care for variety of species.
 Expertise in model development & review
of research protocols for animal welfare.
 Provides technical support for research –
x-rays, ultrasound, biopsy sampling.
 No 2 days are alike!
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Attending veterinarian = USDA
term for vet with authority for
animal care and use program.
Administration
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Director, Associate Director, Surgical Director,
Vice President for Research…
Manages budget and staffing issues.
May write grants for enhancing the program
or equipment purchases.
Liaison to senior management to ensure
support for optimal animal program.
Rare/no clinical work, lots of management!
Research
Veterinarians may head research projects veterinary training enhances research!
 Independent or Collaborative research
 Tremendous diversity of research
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Infectious disease, physiology, biology,
reproduction, surgery, cancer biology,
pharmaceutics, neuroscience, biomedical
instrumentation, toxicology,…
Teaching & Training
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LAM vets needed to teach in veterinary
schools, veterinary technician schools,
graduate programs.
Veterinarians can serve as trainers for other
veterinary residents, graduate students,
research staff, animal care staff.
A well-developed training program is an
essential part of a good lab animal program.
Pathology
Lab animal vets may become dual
boarded in pathology which enables them
to work in a toxicology group to diagnose
toxic effects from drugs.
 Pathologists that understand lab animal
diseases and species/strain differences,
will add strength to a lab animal program.
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Surgery & Postop Care
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Veterinarians with a love of surgery,
anesthesia, analgesia can have a challenging
career in lab animal programs to develop
surgical programs and teach research staff
(esp. rodent surgery!)
MDs doing surgery on animals can be a
problem (don’t recognize species differences)
– Vets doing surgery on people is illegal!
Surgical vets add excellence, depth &
diversity to a lab animal program.
Regulatory Oversight
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Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
(IACUC) is mandated by USDA regulations &
PHS.
Must include a veterinarian w/ LAM exp.
Responsible for reviewing and approving all
animal use protocols.
Review animal program/facilities ea. 6 months.
Responsible for investigating animal concerns.
Veterinary leadership enhances animal welfare.
Environmental Enrichment
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Animals are also provided enrichment in
the form of exercise, toys, music, group
housing, videos and other food treats.
Alternatives (3Rs)
 3Rs
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= Reduce, Refine, Replace
Reduction of animal numbers
 Better
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Refinement of animal models
 Less
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statistics, less redundancy.
invasive, less pain/distress.
Replacement of animal models
 Cell
culture, computer modeling, etc.
What Species Will I Work With?
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Depends on type of program
~95% of research animals are rats/mice.
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~5% other species
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Rodents, genetically-engineered.
Domestic species (dogs, ferrets, pigs).
Non-human primates (NHPs - OW vs. NW).
Exotics – woodchucks, bats, fish, amphibians,
reptiles, etc.
May work at large NHP facility – one of eight
National Primate Research Centers.
LAM versus Private Practice
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Clientele - pet owner vs. scientist – different issues.
Individual care vs. herd health – depends on study,
some rare & valuable strains/species.
Diagnostics – pursue if you have time, money, tools –
write up interesting cases.
Hours / Schedule – usually less weekend work!
Tools – ultrasounds, MRIs, endoscopy, varies widely.
No two days are alike!
Work Hard but Have Fun!
Must Work Well with
Human primates too!
How’s the job market?
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Steady; continuing demand for LAM vets
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Future looks bright
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Opportunities are varied & exciting; need
for diverse skills and experience!
Where are the jobs?
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Anywhere biomedical research is performed
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Academia – both large and small programs
Pharmaceutical Companies
Biotech Companies
Hospitals
Government-Military-NIH
Public health
Throughout the US / world
Salaries:
“Show me the Money!”
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Starting $43-$93K* (varies w/ program,
experience, boards)
Avg. starting salary for academia and/or
industry jobs in 2005 w/ 0-5 yrs exp.=
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Residency Salaries
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71K (non boarded),
90K (boarded)
Start ~ $37K – no experience
Consulting to supplement income.
* Info based on 2005 ACLAM/ASLAP Salary Survey
Comparative Medicine and
Public Outreach
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A lot of misinformation is spread about animal
research.
Public surveys reveal that majority of
Americans support the need for animal
research – but support is declining.
Public does not realize the many benefits of
animal research to both people and animals.
Public does not always know that animals are
treated humanely and with great respect.
Raise your hand if….
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You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
have ever been vaccinated
have ever taken a medication
have ever had surgery/hospital stay
have ever had thyroid disease
have ever donated/received blood
know someone who has diabetes
know someone with cancer
know someone with other diseases…
Medical Advances
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Examples of medical advances
from animal research:
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Vaccines against polio, measles,
and smallpox;
Open-heart surgery, coronary
bypass, valves
Diabetes therapies
“Iron lung used
for polio victims,
1956”
Animals Benefit Too!!!
Pookie: Living
with diabetes
Maggie:
Breast cancer
survivor
Buddy: After
his heart
surgery
Lucy: After
her kidney
transplant
Highlights of this career…
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Exciting/diverse career - improving both
animal & human lives.
Steady demand, good positions available for
range of experience & skills.
Lucrative– good pay/benefits.
Neat tools – always new challenges.
Great environment – flexible hours.
Great colleagues…
COME JOIN US!
Questions?