Species include: Amphibians, Birds, Cats, Chickens, Chinchillas, Cows, Dogs, Ducks, Ferrets, Fish, Hamsters, Horses, Mice, Rabbits, Rats, Sheep, Swine, Voles, other rodent species.

Residents are responsible for clinical care, preventive medicine, and sentinel screening of all species and are mentored by ACLAM diplomates. Additional responsibilities include facility rounds, protocol review, pathology review, and all other aspects of laboratory animal medicine. Additional clinical training with primates occurs at a Primate Research Center (e.g., Yerkes or Wisconsin National Primate Research Center), pharmaceutical company (e.g., Pfizer, Novartis or GlaxoSmithKline ), and/or university (e.g., Yale, Johns Hopkins, or Tri-Institutional-NYC) with NHP colonies and research activities. Other laboratory animal species may be included at these institutions as well.

The Cornell Center for Animal Resources and Education (CARE) in Ithaca, NY is sponsoring an ACLAM-accredited laboratory animal medicine residency, beginning July 1. The objective of this 2.5-to-3 year residency program is to train graduate veterinarians for a career in laboratory animal medicine in a biomedical and agricultural research setting. The program provides residents with the knowledge and experiences necessary to achieve certification by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM), as outlined in the ACLAM Role Delineation Document.

Through a strong emphasis on clinical laboratory animal medicine, residents gain invaluable experience working side-by-side with ACLAM board-certified veterinarians in various on-campus and satellite facilities. Residents receive hands-on training to advance the humane care and responsible use of a myriad species of laboratory animals, including but not limited to mice, rats, nontraditional rodents, rabbits, cats, dogs, swine, cattle, sheep, horses, poultry, and various aquatic/amphibian and avian species. The CARE residency program is unique in the breadth of species that it oversees and in its exposure to production animals via collaboration with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS); this is a training niche that is offered in few programs but addresses a growing demand for lab animal medicine veterinarians experienced in the care and management of agricultural species. The successful candidate’s skill-set will also be developed in the diagnosis and treatment of common and unusual conditions encountered in laboratory animal species, communication with investigators and provision of veterinary support to researchers, knowledge of animal husbandry programs in biomedical and agricultural settings, veterinary roles and responsibilities within an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) with IACUC membership as an alternate to the Attending Veterinarian, and the implementation of traditional and recently-developed animal models. Cornell has both large animal and small animal ABSL2 facilities, and a small animal BSL3 facility. An active aquatic core houses zebrafish and a variety of other fish species.

Research opportunities abound during the residency program and CARE’s relationship with the various laboratories within the Cornell research community ensure that the successful candidate can explore a wide range of research interests in pursuit of their first-author publication in a peer-reviewed journal. With special permission from the Director of Graduate Studies of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, opportunity also exists for participation in a concurrent master’s degree program on a case-by-case basis following laboratory rotations. This program allows for further development of the laboratory animal resident’s skill-set in areas such as grant proposal writing. For those interested in obtaining a PhD degree, preliminary rotations and coursework can be done while in the LAM residency, with full-time enrollment beginning after the completion of the residency training. Additional collaborative research projects also frequently become available and residents are encouraged to explore their research interests and to participate in multiple projects under supervision.

Other invaluable educational opportunities are readily available to the laboratory animal medicine resident. Throughout the fall and spring semesters of each year, residents will attend didactic lectures (VETBMS -7030, Biology and Medicine of Laboratory Animals, and VETBMS – 7020, Practice of Laboratory Animal Medicine) presented through the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. A weekly journal club and regular pathology/slide rounds balances out the residency curriculum. A required rotation through the CVM’s Section of Anatomic Pathology allows residents to spend time working alongside ACVP diplomates in the well-equipped Animal Health Diagnostic Center within the NY State Diagnostic Laboratory. As clinical cases warrant, CARE residents have the opportunity to work alongside specialists from various disciplines within the renowned Cornell University Hospital for Animals (CUHA). Through the state-of-the-art CUHA, residents have access to the various diagnostic tools, imaging modalities, and treatment options that are currently the gold standard for veterinary medicine. As part of our residency program, trainees will have the opportunity to rotate up to 2 weeks with a world-class leader in medical device development and manufacturing. This rotation will provide exposure to development and testing of medical devices including vascular grafts, endovascular and interventional devices, surgical meshes, sutures, and similar devices. By mutual agreement, the trainee may later spend an additional 2-3 months to further develop skills in this area of expertise. This is a unique opportunity to explore a fascinating area of laboratory animal medicine. The residency also allows trainees to obtain relevant experience with non-human primates (NHP) at either/or academic and pharmaceutical institutions. Additional rotations within the CVM, as well as at outside institutions, are available depending on the resident’s area(s) of interest.

The Transgenic Mouse Core Facility (TMCF) gives trainees an opportunity to experience firsthand the production of genetically manipulated rodents and special issues associated with their breeding and care. The faculty of CARE has an active research program focusing on applied research in laboratory animal and comparative medicine, particularly focusing on research that enhances the welfare of animals under our care.

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