GRAF Senior Animal Technologist

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Animal Resources Center (ARC) at the University of Chicago supports animal research by ensuring humane care and proper use of all laboratory animals. It oversees all research animals on campus, manages six facilities and a business office, and includes husbandry, maintenance, operations, veterinary care, and finance/administration. ARC is part of the Office of Shared Research Facilities, which also manages BSD core facilities. The Gnotobiotics Facility maintains germ-free animal colonies in film isolators and supports BSD investigators by providing breeding, colony management, and experimental services through specialized gnotobiotics staff. The GRAF Senior Animal Technologist provides handles and maintains the health of germ-free animals in specialized film isolators. Responsibilities include observing, documenting, and maintaining records on animal behavior, breeding and welfare. The role also provides technical support of experimental interventions as requested by GRAF research coordinators. They may also be involved in training or overseeing the work of other GRAF animal technologists.

Requirements

Minimum requirements include vocational training, apprenticeships or the equivalent experience in related field (not typically required to have a four-year degree).
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds required.

Nice To Haves

College/University Degree in related field strongly preferred.
Experience working with rodent colonies in an academic research environment strongly preferred.
Computer knowledge and skills such as Word and Excel strongly preferred.
Availability for weekend and holiday schedules as part of a shared rotation for animal surveillance strongly preferred.
Good written, verbal and organizational skills strongly preferred.
Ability to demonstrate excellent interpersonal/communication skills strongly preferred.
Capacity to handle multiple tasks in a short amount of time strongly preferred.
Must be detailed and organized and respect confidentiality strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Perform animal health checks daily and cage change for experimental film isolators and specialized caging units.
Maintains breeding colony support and documents as prescribed by the investigator group to facilitate colony management.
Assist with experimental supply preparation in the GRAF.
Provide technical support interventions such as collection of animal weights, collection of experimental samples, or provision of experimental materials by parenteral routes.
Check cultures daily, prepare Chlorine Dioxide, process autoclave cycles, assist with facility sanitation.
Re-wrap filters on sterilization cylinders, process BT-Sure indicators.
Prepare stock materials for autoclave processing and sterilization cylinders for isolator stocking.
Assist Technical Director in identifying pain points with workflow, deficiencies in training or recommendations for retraining of staff, identify needs and suggest methodology for training.
Serve as a lead resource and mentor to the Animal Technologist team championing team work and technical excellence; assist the Technical Director of redistribution of work assignments as needed.
Under a limited degree of supervision, provides technical support to clinical research studies.
Assists with quality and safety control measures for the laboratory, such as checks of equipment, temperature control, and documentation of quality improvement projects.
Performs other related work as needed.