Lab Animal Care Technician - Tufts University

The role of the Division of Animal Resources (DAR) is to facilitate research and teaching with animals at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The Tufts Farm and Laboratory Animal Medicine Service (LAMS) are integral units of the DAR. We maintain teaching and production herds of many common agricultural species including dairy heifers, beef cattle, horses, small ruminants, poultry as well as several other lab animal species.
The role of the Laboratory Animal Medicine Service is to facilitate research and teaching with animals at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. To do this, LAMS develops and implements a high-quality program of animal care and use to enable the teaching and research activities of the school. This program is characterized by a high level of client service, strong veterinary expertise, effective technical service delivery, quality animal housing and care, compliance with federal and state regulations and maintenance of AAALAC accreditation.

With a high degree of autonomy, judgement, and skill, provide excellent husbandry, and care for a wide variety of laboratories and teaching animals. Specific animal duties include receipt and transport, provision of food and water, changing and cleaning of cages, monitoring health and welfare, documentation of census and animal health records, handling and restraint, sanitation of caging and rooms. Operation of various equipment and transport vehicles. Train and assess competency of new hires. Provide technical support for experimental procedures. The candidate must be committed to the humane handling and care of animals used in research and be able to provide services to a variety of research investigators. This position will require working in a BSL-2 environment, BSL-3 environment, select agent environment and farm environment. This position is considered essential, and as such requires weekend, holiday and off hour’s coverage as needed.

The Lab Animal Care Technician is responsible for:

Animal Care and Husbandry

• Cleaning, feeding, and watering animals daily.
• Receive, properly identify, transport, handle and restrain animals by appropriate techniques.
• Observe and report animal problems immediately to veterinary care staff.
• These observations include but are not limited to sick animals, maintenance problems, safety hazards, and reporting animal welfare concerns.
• Provide necessary enrichment for animals housed in this facility.
• Follow SOPs, regulations, and guidelines to promote animal health and welfare.
• Sanitization, Facility Maintenance and Equipment Operation
• Sanitize animal rooms, caging, animal use equipment and support areas with approved chemical agents by appropriate techniques.
• Collection and dispose of waste and hazardous items by executing established procedures. operate equipment such as cage and rack washers, autoclaves, foggers, and vehicles for animal transport.
• Keep work areas stocked with supplies needed for routine operation of the area.
• Operate heavy equipment such as forklift, bobcat and hoist.
• Follow health and safety policies by complying with established procedures and regulations to promote personnel safety.
• Maintain facility security to ensure animal and personnel safety 20%

Recordkeeping

• document and maintain daily animal census and animal health records with accuracy.
• Record accurate documentation necessary for regulatory compliance.
• Monitor environmental parameters daily through proper documentation and report any deviations immediately to the supervisor.
• Ensure compliance with all Tufts University policies and local, state and federal laws governing the use of research animals. 10%

BSL-3 animal husbandry and care

• Follow established disease control protocols to daily clean, disinfect, and maintain shelter offices, kennels, cages, and general areas.
• Understand and respect confidentiality and be able to handle difficult and sensitive situations with tact
• Farm animal husbandry and care (chickens, sheep, bovine, horses, etc):
• Cleaning, feeding, and watering of all farm animals on a daily basis.
• Specialized tasks include but are not limited to operation of farm machinery, artificial insemination of cattle and swine, and nursing care of sick animals under veterinary supervision.

Miscellaneous

• Administer medications.
• Assist Veterinarians and Investigators in procedures performed on laboratory and farm animals (ex. treatments, surgical assistance, pre- and post-operative care)
• Use of computer for e-mail access and data entry

Basic Requirements:

• 1 year prior experience with animals either in a research or veterinary setting.
• H.S. Diploma
• A valid driver's license is required and must be maintained for the duration of employment
• Required computer/technical skills: Should be comfortable using Microsoft Windows programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint; the e-mail network and internet.
• Other (Describe – i.e., lifting, domestic/foreign travel, foreign language): position involves working with a variety of species; heavy lifting; frequent pushing and pulling of heavy equipment; standing for long periods; and use of autoclaves, cage washers, hoists; operating motor vehicles and forklift or bobcat. Employment may be contingent upon successfully obtaining and maintaining FBI security clearance for entry to select agent facilities (Bioterrorism Security Risk Assessment procedures).

Preferred Qualifications:

• A. A or A.S.degree, vocational training or AALAS certification preferred.
• Additional familiarity with research settings including all applicable federal and state regulations and guidelines would be preferred.
• The candidate should also be able to assist in maintaining inventory of consumables, routine equipment maintenance and attention to facilities.
• AALAS certification at ALAT or higher level is preferred.

Special Work Schedule Requirements (e.g. overtime, evenings, weekends, on call, rotating shifts, etc. Please note that the schedule of exempt employees may vary based on the needs of the department and it is not necessarily limited to a set number of hours.)
Weekend and holiday hours will be required. Occasional off-hours work required. This position will encompass one weekend day, Tues through Sat or Sun through Thurs if weekends are not handled on a rotational basis.