Director, Animal Resource Program; Chief, Division of Comparative Medicine

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

Penn State College of Medicine (COM) is hiring a non‑tenure line faculty clinical veterinarian to serve as the Director, Animal Resource Program (ARP) and Chief, Division of Comparative Medicine. The Director/Chief provides leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for the institution’s AAALAC‑accredited animal resource program, while serving as the senior comparative medicine leader within the Department of Surgery.

This position is responsible for ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, regulatory compliance, and research support, while advancing innovative, collaborative, and translational research programs. The Director/Chief leads a multidisciplinary team delivering veterinary care, husbandry, technical services, and research support across a complex biomedical research enterprise.

• Promote a culture of ethical research, scientific excellence, and animal welfare.
• Ensure the infrastructure, processes, and resources are in place to support adherence to institutional SOPs, policies, and guidelines, as well as compliance with local, state, and federal regulations and accreditation standards (USDA, OLAW/PHS Policy, AAALAC International).
• Partner closely with the Institutional Official and IACUC to ensure ethical and humane animal use, including serving as a voting member of the IACUC to review research protocols.
• Ensure corrective actions are implemented when compliance deficiencies are identified, in coordination with appropriate governing bodies.
• Provide training and continuing education for voting IACUC members and for personnel involved with the care and use of animals, in collaboration with compliance leadership.
• Lead AAALAC accreditation activities and site visits.

• Ensure the delivery of comprehensive veterinary care programs for research animals, including preventive medicine and health surveillance programs; surgical and perioperative services; disease prevention, biosecurity, and colony management; alignment with institutional and regulatory health standards; implementation and consistent application of standards for anesthesia, analgesia, and humane endpoints.
• Ensure investigator access to expert consultation by the ARP veterinarians regarding animal model selection and refinement.
• Ensure appropriate systems, staffing, and on‑call coverage are in place to support timely response to urgent and after‑hours veterinary care needs.
• Ensure the program stays aligned with the latest developments in laboratory animal science and integrates advances into everyday practice.
• Provide back‑up clinical care in case of staffing constraints or other emergent situations.

• Partner with faculty investigators to support high quality, ethical, and reproducible animal‑based research.
• Oversee and ensure access to veterinary and technical expertise to support development of innovative models and translational approaches; assist researchers in the preparation of IACUC protocols and grant submissions; drive animal model development and optimization; provide guidance on surgical planning and specialized procedures; facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration across departments, centers, and biomedical core facilities; contribute to grant development, program project initiatives, and institutional research growth.
• Ensure appropriate and methodologically up‑to‑date training and support programs are in place for faculty, research staff, and animal resource program staff.

• Partner closely with the Director, Business Operations to oversee the operational management of the ARP, including long‑range strategic planning, strategic…