Research Animal Specialist, Non-Human Primate and Large Animal Facility

Site: The General Hospital Corporation

 

At Mass General Brigham, we know it takes a surprising range of talented professionals to advance our mission—from doctors, nurses, business people and tech experts, to dedicated researchers and systems analysts. As a not-for-profit organization, Mass General Brigham is committed to supporting patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community.  We place great value on being a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization as we aim to reflect the diversity of the patients we serve.

At Mass General Brigham, we believe a diverse set of backgrounds and lived experiences makes us stronger by challenging our assumptions with new perspectives that can drive revolutionary discoveries in medical innovations in research and patient care. Therefore, we invite and welcome applicants from traditionally underrepresented groups in healthcare — people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ community, and/or gender expansive, first and second-generation immigrants, veterans, and people from different socioeconomic backgrounds – to apply.

 

 

Job Summary

Research Animal Specialists at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM) provide basic husbandry, health surveillance, and compliance monitoring to laboratory animals. Responsibilities also include performing equipment sanitation, maintaining husbandry records, and supporting the facility teams in daily work as needed. For this role candidates interested in working with Non-Human Primates, Swine, and other USDA covered species are preferred.

All Research Animal Specialists are required to work in a team environment following Lean Management principles and participate in continuous improvement projects. This position involves daily exposure to laboratory animals, their waste products, and possibly chemical agents, radioactive isotopes and ABSL2 hazards. Rotating weekend and holiday work hours are required. CCM offers a wide variety of career and skill building opportunities, as well as an extensive benefits package offered to MGH employees.

 

Qualifications

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

The Following Duties are performed daily with minimal supervision.

Provides Animal Husbandry Tasks:

• Serve as a member of a research animal care team, which is responsible for daily animal husbandry and welfare checks in the facility. 

• Perform daily work involving the handling of genetically engineered animal models, animals with immuno-compromised health status, and animals recovering from surgery or other invasive procedures, etc. 

• Assemble caging supplies with proper handling to ensure sterility level of equipment, feed and water. 

• Perform daily animal pen/caging sanitization or changing. Following aseptic technique, ensuring animals are not contaminated when outside primary enclosure. 

• Provide compliance monitoring of cage conditions. (Overcrowded cage management, spot changing of dirty cages, etc.). 

• Track progress of neonates, notification of team members & PI staff, and weaning of cages per SOPs.

• Ensure animals are provided with food and water daily.

• Record critical facility data/documentation on a daily basis required by local, state and federal regulatory agencies.

• Perform routine euthanasia on laboratory animals according to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia.

Provides Animal Health Monitoring:

• Evaluate animal’s health each day and report abnormal clinical signs to the team lead and veterinary staff per SOP.

• Provide follow-up notification and treatment of common health concerns prescribed by the veterinary staff per SOP.  

• Reports progress of therapies to the team, veterinary staff, and PI staff via health card notifications and email.

Performs Facility Cage Wash Operations:

• Operate and maintain automated cage wash equipment and sterilizers in order to sanitize primary animal holding cages, support equipment, and general access areas.

• Assemble caging.

• Prepare acidified water bottles using an automated bottle filler.

• Receive, transport, process, store facility supplies, animal feed, bedding, and enrichment

Provides Facility Maintenance and Sanitization:

• Maintain animal rooms so that secondary enclosure is free of infectious agents and