Institution TypePublic University
Is there a medical school?Yes
Is this a land-grant institution?No
Vivarium DirectorDr. F Claire Hankenson (ULAR)
Program DirectorDr. Raimon Duran-Struuck or Dr. Blythe Philips (Residency Co-Directors)
Who to ContactDr. Raimon Duran-Struuck or Dr. Blythe Philips (Residency Co-Directors)
Address3800 Spruce Street, OVQ 177E, ULAR, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA  19104
Phone215) 573-3625 (RDS) (215)898-5319 (BHP)
Fax(215) 573-9998
Emailrdura@upenn.edubphilips@upenn.edu 

Vivarium Information

Vivarium NameUniversity of Pennsylvania
Is the facility AAALAC accredited?Yes
Describe management structureMore than 5 administratively distinct vivaria
Describe the extent to which your facilities are centralizedAnimals housed in 5+ separate locations
Vivarium Square Feet300,000
Summarize the nature of the animal population and the predominant types of clinical activitiesAll species of laboratory animals, to include rodents, dogs, cats, rabbits, pigs, sheep, nonhuman primates, birds, shrews, and aquatic species. Complete surgical support and rodent diagnostic laboratory support. The institution maintains germ-free and gnotobiology laboratories, an Institute of Gene Therapy, and Transgenic Core Facilities.

Penn is highly ranked nation-wide among schools of medicine in PHS-funded biomedical research. Major categories of biomedical research conducted within the School of Medicine include cancer, cell biology, imaging, anesthesia, surgery, infectious disease, cell therapy, gene therapy, transplantation, genetics, heart disease, neuroscience and immunology.

Species covered as part of clinical training.
1. Swine, macaques, dogs and cats make up the majority of our large animal clinical caseload. 
2. Species which residents will obtain significant experience with include ferrets, guinea pigs, rabbits, tree shrews, musk shrews, gerbils, hamsters, frogs, fish, and birds.
3. Residents will have regular and significant training in mice and rats in various housing parameters (conventional vs. barrier) and under differing disease statuses including various animal biosafety levels (ABSL1-3). 
4. Residents will have the opportunity to spend several days at New Bolton Center, Penn's agricultural research site, where they will have some exposure to research/teaching herds of large animals (horses, cattle, swine, small ruminants, camelids).
Number of Veterinarians in program10
Number of ACLAM Diplomates in program7
Number of Boarded Pathologists2
Number of Other Boarded Veterinary Specialists0
Number of necropsies/week in the veterinary unit5
Number of surgical cases/week in the veterinary unit5

Training Program Details

Is this program recognized by ACLAM?Yes
Does this program participate in the Veterinary Internship & Residency Matching Program (VIRMP)?Yes
Number of concurrent residents6
How many residents/trainees have completed this program?27
Of these, how many have subsequently become ACLAM Diplomates?23
In what year did the program accept its first trainee?2006
How many years are required to complete this program (residency only)?3
Is formal coursework offered?Yes
Is a degree program associated with this residency?No
If yes, what degree(s)? 
Which departments most commonly grant degree(s)? 
Give an overview of this program, describing its particular strengths and any unique aspects that are not addressed in any of the other sectionsThis program is participating in the VIRMP and thus will require applications to be uploaded with our program selected for consideration as described in the VIRMP website; interviews will be completed by early winter, and automated matching will occur as determined by VIRMP. Please be sure to review the directions on the ASLAP (www.aslap.org) main website and VIRMP website (https://www.virmp.org)!!

IMPORTANT-- NOTE THAT THE DEADLINE FOR LABORATORY ANIMAL RESIDENCIES IS NOT THE SAME AS FOR THE REST OF THE INTERNSHIP/OTHER RESIDENCIES.

The University of Pennsylvania is a large academic institution with a wide array of species used as animal models at one of the most highly funded biomedical research institutions in the country. University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR)provides clinical, husbandry, and financial support for the care and use of animals used in biomedical research on campus.

The residency program is organized into a 3-year program that emphasizes clinical medicine, lab animal pathology, regulatory affairs, and administration of a complex and diverse laboratory animal program. In addition to two years of clinical rotations (years 1 and 3), one year is provided for exclusive research training in an area of interest to the resident.

The training program is officially recognized by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM), and program completion satisfies eligibility requirements for specialty board certification.

The objective of the University of Pennsylvania ACLAM Training Program is to provide graduate veterinarians the clinical and research training necessary to become skilled laboratory animal veterinarians and become contributing members of the laboratory animal medicine community. Through the intense didactic component of the program and mentored research experience with the goal providing a first authored publication in a peer reviewed journal, this program will work to preparing the residents to succeed at the board examination.

The Penn Training Program is administered within the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine in the Department of Pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine. This allows for routine interaction (rounds, Dept. seminar series) of our residents with the veterinary anatomic and clinical pathology residents and faculty of this academic department. This close relationship with the School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as the School of Medicine, will allow for clinical and research collaborations in pursuit of the publication required for eligibility for ACLAM boards.
Describe any unique research interests of your facultyAnalgesia and Anesthesia
Rodent Diseases and Clinical Pathology
Husbandry, refinements, and rodent welfare
Nonhuman primate refinements and welfare
Immunology
Transplantation/ Cell therapy
Care of immunodeficient animals
Give a few literature citations of publications completed by trainees during their tenure in this program

University of Pennsylvania Laboratory Animal Medicine Resident publications:  2018-2022

  1. Bell SE, Nash AK, Zanghi BM, Otto CM, Perry EB. 2020. An Assessment of the Stability of the Canine Oral Microbiota After Probiotic Administration in Healthy Dogs Over Time. Frontiers in veterinary science7:616.
  2. Blevins CE, Celeste NA, Marx JO. 2021. Effects of Oxygen Supplementation on Injectable and Inhalant Anesthesia in C57BL/6 Mice. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS60:289-297.
  3. Brent JM, Tian Z, Shofer FS, Martin JT, Yao L, Acharte C, Chen YH, Qin L, Enomoto-Iwamoto M, Zhang Y. 2020. Influence of Genetic Background and Sex on Gene Expression in the Mouse (Mus musculus) Tail in a Model of Intervertebral Disc Injury. Comparative medicine70:131-139.
  4. Brent JM, Tian Z, Yao L, Huang J, Markova DZ, Shofer FS, Brice AK, Qin L, Scanzello CR, Vitale F, Chen D, Zhang Y. 2020. Functional Deficits in Mice Expressing Human Interleukin 8. Comparative medicine70:205-215.
  5. Bright LA, Dittmar W, Nanduri B, McCarthy FM, Mujahid N, Costa LR, Burgess SC, Swiderski CE. 2019. Modeling the pasture-associated severe equine asthma bronchoalveolar lavage fluid proteome identifies molecular events mediating neutrophilic airway inflammation. Veterinary medicine10:43-63.
  6. Bright LA, Gardiner KL, Veeder CL, Brice AK. 2019. Hepatic Hemangiosarcoma in a Cynomolgus Macaque (Macaca fascicularis). Comparative medicine69:240-248.
  7. David EM, Pacharinsak C, Jampachaisri K, Hagan L, Marx JO. 2022. Use of Ketamine or Xylazine to Provide Balanced Anesthesia with Isoflurane in C57BL/6J Mice. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS61:457-467.
  8. Erickson RL, Blevins CE, Souza Dyer C,Marx JO. 2019. Alfaxalone-Xylazine Anesthesia in Laboratory Mice (Mus musculus). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS  58:30-39.
  9. Gardiner KL, Cideciyan AV, Swider M, Dufour VL, Sumaroka A, Komaromy AM, Hauswirth WW, Iwabe S, Jacobson SG, Beltran WA, Aguirre GD. 2020. Long-Term Structural Outcomes of Late-Stage RPE65 Gene Therapy. Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy28:266-278.
  10. Kartha S, Weisshaar CL, Philips BH, Winkelstein BA. 2018. Pre-treatment with Meloxicam Prevents the Spinal Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in DRG Neurons that Accompany Painful Cervical Radiculopathy. Neuroscience388:393-404.
  11. LaTourette PC, 2nd,Awasthi S, Desmond A, Pardi N, Cohen GH, Weissman D, Friedman HM. 2020. Protection against herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in a neonatal murine model using a trivalent nucleoside-modified mRNA in lipid nanoparticle vaccine. Vaccine  38:7409-7413.
  12. LaTourette PC, David EM, Pacharinsak C, Jampachaisri K, Smith JC, Marx JO. 2020. Effects of Standard and Sustained-release Buprenorphine on the Minimum Alveolar Concentration of Isoflurane in C57BL/6 Mice. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS59:298-304.
  13. Nicolis IN, Beale CN, Bidot WA, Esmail M, Perkins SE. 2022. Performance and Consistency of Circulating Warm Water Blankets for Rodents. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS61:96-100.
  14. Rodriguez I, Philips BH, Miedel EL, Bright LA, LaTourette II PC, Carty AJ, Witschey WR, Gorman RC, Gorman Iii JH, Marx JO. 2019. Hydromorphone-induced Neurostimulation in a Yorkshire Swine (Sus scrofa) after Myocardial Infarction Surgery. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS58:601-605.
  15. Tran FH, Spears SL,Ahn KJ, Eisch AJ, Yun S. 2020. Does chronic systemic injection of the DREADD agonists clozapine-N-oxide or Compound 21 change behavior relevant to locomotion, exploration, anxiety, and depression in male non-DREADD-expressing mice? Neuroscience letters  739:135432.
  16. Wallace CK, Bell SE, LaTourette PC, 2nd, Miedel EM, Carty AJ, Philips BH. 2019. Suspected Anaphylactic Reaction to Ketamine in 3 Yucatan Swine (Sus scrofa). Comparative medicine69:419-424.
  17. Wallace CK, Bright LA, Marx JO, Andersen RP, Mullins MC, Carty AJ. 2018. Effectiveness of Rapid Cooling as a Method of Euthanasia for Young Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS57:58-63.
  18. Wilson JM, Wallace CK, Brice AK, Makaron L. 2020. Mineralized Trichobezoars in a Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta). Journal of medical primatology  49:158-161. 
Where will vacancies be advertised?VIRMP
What month does the program begin?July

Living and Working

Starting Annual SalaryNIH pay scale
To what extent is travel to meetings, etc. paid for?$2000 per year for at least one national professional conference and local relevant meetings and related training opportunities
Is individual health insurance provided?Yes
Is family health insurance provided?No
Describe any fees or tuitionn/a
Describe the residents' responsibilities for night, weekend, and holiday coverageRotating weekly (weeknight/end) and holiday emergency duties with backup staff veterinarians. Residents will generally not be on-call more often than one in every 6 weeks.
How many annual vacation days are given?10
How many annual sick days are given?12
Briefly describe the communityPhiladelphia is the Nation's first (and only) World Heritage city. Recently voted as the 3rd-ranked 'happiest city' for young professionals, Philadelphia is a large city with a central historic core surrounded by individual and unique neighborhoods. There are several major universities within the city and 4 major professional sports teams. It has a vibrant arts and cultural pulse, with many major museums, symphony hall, and dozens of theaters. Philadelphia has an exciting dining and nightlife scene to cater to any taste. There is a significant public transportation system servicing the city and outlying suburban regions.
(http://www.philly.com/)
Institutional, facility, or training program web sitehttp://www.vet.upenn.edu/ - search Pathobiology dept