In light of the 2023 International Laboratory Animal Technician Week (a.k.a. “Tech Week”) we’re taking a moment to celebrate, honor, and recognize the incredible laboratory animal technicians in our community. This annual celebration highlights lab animal techs’ essential contributions to research and science worldwide.
So, what exactly are these essential contributions? Well, biomedical research is responsible for all modern cures for diseases, treatments for injuries, vaccines for protection, and any medical advancement you can think of. Lab animal techs play a vital role in this process; they provide each research animal with constant care and attention. They are primarily responsible for ensuring that lab animals are healthy, happy, and safe.
What Makes Lab Animal Technicians Special?
According to Understandinganimalresearch.org, laboratory animal technicians are the primary caregivers to animals in the lab and are expressly responsible for their care and welfare during research.
- Ensure animals get the appropriate amount and type of food
- Give animals access to clean, fresh water
- Provide animals with species-appropriate enrichment activities for mental stimulation
- Check the animal’s health and take the appropriate action depending on the situation
- Make sure animals are housed in the correct environment
- Provide high standards of hygiene in the laboratory
What Do Lab Animal Technicians Do?
According to Understandinganimalresearch.org, laboratory animal technicians are the primary caregivers to animals in the lab and are expressly responsible for their care and welfare during research.
- Ensuring animals are provided with the appropriate amount and type of food
- Ensuring animals have access to clean, fresh water
- Providing animals with species-appropriate enrichment activities for mental stimulation
- Checking the animal’s health and taking the appropriate action depending on the situation
- Ensuring animals are housed in the correct environment
- Ensuring high standards of hygiene are maintained in the laboratory
- Managing breeding colonies of animals
The Top 3 Answers From Lab Animal Technicians About Why They Love Their Jobs
To celebrate and honor International Laboratory Animal Technician Week, we contacted as many lab animal technicians as possible via social media by distributing fun and usable microfiber cleaning cloths to attendees of Tech Week celebrations hosted by research facilities across the country! We wanted to let them know that we appreciate everything they do to better the world. So, we invited them to participate in a prize giveaway!
All they had to do was reply to us with an answer to this simple question that we shared on social media and had printed on the microfiber cloths: what’s the most rewarding part of your career? After reviewing all the submissions, we would like to share these inspiring answers. Here’s a glimpse at some of our favorite responses!
1. First Place: Karina Donelson, UT Southwestern
2. Second Place: Anonymous
3. Third Place: Anonymous
International Laboratory Animal Technician Week
The International Laboratory Animal Technician Week had its first celebration as early as 1999! At that time, the Committee on Technician Affairs created the National Laboratory Animal Technician Week. Their goal was similar to today’s; they aimed to recognize and celebrate lab technicians as fundamental to biomedical research. Then, in 2002 they named the holiday what we call today, International Laboratory Animal Technician Week, to include and invite techs from all over the world.
Who Participates in International Laboratory Animal Technician Week?
- AALAS—United States
- CALAS—China
- CALAS-ACSAL—Canada
- SBCAL – Brazil
- IAT—United Kingdom
- JALAS—Japan
- LASA India—India
- SCAND—Scandinavia
Lab Animal Technician: Point of View
Most people who gravitate toward careers in laboratory animal research tend to love animals. For example, Lab Animal Technologist, Jazzsminn Hembree, says in an article posted by Speakingofresearch.com that she started in this field as a student helper simply because all she wanted to do was work with animals. Countless other lab animal technicians and technologists express similar sentiments about their work.
Another example is a Lab Animal Health Technician from Chicago University, Chago Bowers. He is another lab animal professional led by a passion for providing animals with the utmost care! To learn more about Chago and his opinions on our Home Cage Monitoring solutions, check out our blog “How Sentinel™ EAD® Technology is Advancing Colony Health Monitoring.”
Allentown Honors Lab Animal Technicians on BRAD
We have the utmost respect and appreciation for the work laboratory animal technicians do every single day. We know the value of biomedical research and how it profoundly impacts the health of our families, friends, and pets. Lab animal techs are solely responsible for providing lab animals with all the care they need to thrive and save more lives. The future of biomedical science depends on ensuring that laboratory animal techs receive the respect, training, and compassion they deserve. They are critical to advancing science, cures, treatments, medicines, and more.
To show our appreciation for biomedical research and lab animal technicians, we became a proud sponsor of BRAD. We even hosted our very own BRAD event at our New Jersey Headquarters! As a sponsor of BRAD, we had the opportunity to create posters for all BRAD event hosts to share at their events. Above, you can see the poster we created to spread awareness about the powerful, positive impacts of Lab Animal Technicians.