Executive Director of Veterinary Service, University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR)

Job Summary

The Executive Director of Veterinary Service provides strategic leadership and comprehensive oversight of all veterinary care and animal welfare programs within University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR) at Drexel University. As the Attending Veterinarian, this role ensures compliance with all relevant laws, regulations, and policies governing the humane use of animals in research and education. The Executive Director manages daily veterinary operations, including surgery, post-operative care, health monitoring, and medical record maintenance. They oversee animal health programs, rodent quarantine, and the evaluation of research animal sources while advising researchers on animal models, surgical procedures, and pain management.

This position is responsible for hiring, training, and supervising veterinary staff, ensuring accreditation through AAALAC International, and actively participating in Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) activities, such as protocol reviews, inspections, and compliance monitoring. Additionally, the Executive Director collaborates with researchers on projects and surgeries, develops and implements Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for animal husbandry, and teaches in the Master of Laboratory Animal Science and Certificate of Veterinary Medicine programs. They work to maintain a safe work environment, support an Occupational Health Program for animal users, and contribute to a culturally competent and inclusive workplace that encourages professional growth. This role requires a strong commitment to excellence in veterinary care, research collaboration, and ethical standards in laboratory animal science.

Essential Functions

• Veterinary Services
  • Provide veterinary medical care and surgical services to research animals (primarily rodents with some swine and rabbit studies). Duties include but are not limited to - Diagnosing and treating naturally occurring and experimental induced diseases in laboratory animals; performing routine veterinary rounds with an emphasis on monitoring transgenic, SCID, knockout, and athymic mouse colonies; and performing euthanasia, routine gross necropsy, sample collections, and microscopic evaluations and coordinate pathological evaluation of sentinels.
  • Ensures animal colonies are maintained free of excluded pathogens
  • Clinical duty including the provision of holiday, weekend, and night emergency on-call duty coverage.
  • Actively participate in training and hands on research related training for labs
  • May be requested to perform certain research related activities
• Inventory Management:
  • Oversees receipt and distribution of veterinary supplies including DEA regulated drugs used by the ULAR veterinary staff
  • Oversees import and export of Quarantine animals
  • Manages and reviews health reports and health surveillance programs of approved animal vendors and relays pertinent information to animal procurement specialist
  • Ensure examination of USDA animals upon delivery
• Professional Development:
  • Maintains and enhances professional growth through collaboration in various research studies
  • Keeps abreast of current activities in animal care by reviewing appropriate literature and attending regional and national meetings
  • Attends local and non local meetings and lectures on Veterinary care and related topics
  • Participates and volunteers with laboratory animal organizations and biomedical research societies
• Fiscal Responsibility:
  • Work in conjunction with Director of Operations to prepare annual budget
  • Provide required oversight of purchasing for veterinary supplies, health surveillance program and quarantine
  • Participates in the process of capital purchases including surgical equipment, euthanasia equipment
  • Coordinate all payroll and human resource requests for veterinary staff at each site
  • Evaluate veterinary staffs on an annual basis for merit raises
• Employee Interaction/Supervision:
  • Directly supervise veterinary care staff including managing performance review process and setting priorities
  • Interact daily with the ULAR management and staff on animal health and husbandry issues
  • Interact with research investigators and their staff on matters of animal care and use
  • Interact with the Executive Vice Provost for Research & Innovation and other members of the Office of Research and Innovation for matters related to personnel, budgets, compliance, etc.
  • Interaction with IACUC chair and coordinator for protocol review and approval
  • Work in conjunction with Biosafety and Radiation officials to approve protocols
  • Wo