Animal Care Technician

The Wistar Institute is a world leader in early-stage discovery science in the areas of cancer, immunology, and infectious disease. Wistar’s dynamic environment supports the advancement of discoveries that will change the future of human health.

Under direct supervision, the Animal Care Technician will be responsible for daily care of research animals including basic husbandry, feeding, watering, cleaning, transferring, and changing of animal cages. The Animal Care Technician will need to perform technical rodent skills such as handling, along with assisting with health monitoring and technical procedures.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the daily care of animals, including feeding, watering, cleaning, moving, transferring, and changing all types of animal cages.
• Able to perform technical rodent skills such as handling, ear tagging, tattooing, weighing, caliper measurements, oral gavage, injections, and bleeding as needed.
• Assist with receiving animals into quarantine and necessary testing.
• Assist with packaging enrichment for sterilization
• Assist with health monitoring technical procedures and animal shipments to diagnostic lab.
• Receives animals when they arrive at the facility.  Unloads, transfers animals into proper holding room, inspects animals for welfare concerns, confirms shipments and records cages to per-diem sheets.  Assists with feed deliveries. Reviews standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Performs daily observations related to the condition and health of animals, including recording and reporting dead, sick animals, or other conditions to the veterinarian and supervisor. 
• Performs euthanasia of animals as requested by PI labs or veterinarian.
• Monitors and documents temperature and humidity to designated holding rooms daily.
• Works with electronic system for cage requests, per-diem scanning, and animal sick reporting.
• Operates equipment including Rack washer, autoclaves, scrubbers, and other equipment as assigned. (Sanitization, decontamination, sterilization)
• Removes soiled equipment to dirty corridor.  Assists in washroom and dirty corridors as needed.
• Monitors Air supply to housing racks.  Reports all broken or malfunctioning equipment. Able to perform basic troubleshooting with animal housing racks.
• Cleans, sanitizes and ATP tests animal rooms and corridors as needed.
• Assist with cage waste disposal process to include decontamination, recycling, and red bag waste disposal

Performs other duties as assigned.

A minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent required. A minimum of one year of prior experience in animal laboratory or related field preferred. AALAS ALAT or LAT certified preferred. Excellent oral communication skills required. Ability to work with an NSG Breeding colony.

Weekend work and holiday work are a requirement of this position. This position is deemed as essential personnel per Institute policy.

Physical Demands: Frequent lifting up to 35 pounds. Working within an animal facility may pose risks to people with certain medical conditions such as asthma or allergies.  These medical conditions could be exacerbated by frequent contact with laboratory research animals.  Must be willing to be vaccinated against hepatitis, tetanus, rabies, and vaccinia. Ability to work in changes in temperature.  Lifting and/or transporting up to 35 pounds required.  Must be capable of pushing, pulling, and lifting materials and equipment in accordance with OSHA regulations.  Physical activity level is considered heavy.

The Wistar Institute is located in the University City area of Philadelphia, in the heart of the University of Pennsylvania Campus. Research discoveries conducted at Wistar have led to the development of vaccines; the identification of genes associated with cancers; and the development of many other significant research technologies and tools.

We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits package.

For more information about The Wistar Institute visit our website at www.wistar.org.

It is the policy of the Institute to provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, citizenship, ethnicity, color, creed, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, veteran status, mental or physical disability (including HIV and AIDS), pregnancy, caregiver status, domestic or sexual violence victim status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or on the basis of genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law, with respect to all terms and conditions of employment.