Program Overview

Introduction to the ARC Veterinary Residency Program

The UTMB Animal Resources Center features a 3-year laboratory animal medicine residency program providing clinical, didactic, technical, and research experience, including in high biocontainment BSL-3/4, to create a well-rounded lab animal clinician.

Program Details

• The program is designed to provide a comprehensive experience, including working with a variety of species such as rodents, small mammals (ferrets and rabbits), agricultural animals (sheep and pigs), aquatics, and nonhuman primates.
• The program facilitates research opportunities to generate primary author, hypothesis-driven, peer-reviewed research papers.
• At the conclusion of the program, residents will be ACLAM boards-eligible.
• The program is ACLAM-accredited and located at an AAALAC International-accredited institution.
• The program accepts one resident every other year.

Location

The program is located at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) campus on Galveston island, a small island 50 miles south of Houston, Texas. UTMB, a component of the University of Texas System, was established in 1891 and is the oldest health care science institution in Texas.

Research Environment

• UTMB places major emphasis on basic and clinical research, providing more than 1.15 million square feet of space specifically designed for research.
• The university has invested considerable resources to develop areas of research strength across the campus and to establish the infrastructure necessary to facilitate basic, clinical, and translational research in the 21st century.
• Research at UTMB is multidisciplinary, with basic scientists, clinicians, and students working together throughout its Schools, Institutes, Centers, and departments to share information, facilities, and other resources.

Facilities and Resources

• The Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), academically housed in the Institute for Human Infections, provides high and maximum containment laboratories as part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Biodefense network.
• UTMB houses one of the largest research libraries in the southwest, with 596 research awards in FY2022.
• Total grant funding for FY2022 was $236 million, an increase of $74 million from the previous fiscal year.
• UTMB funds additional research-related projects yearly from various endowment funds.

Animal Resources Center (ARC)

• The ARC encompasses more than 125,000 square feet in 9 facilities and is responsible for the provision of care to all vertebrate animals on campus.
• The ARC provides a comprehensive program of veterinary care, animal husbandry, technical advice, and assistance and facilities to advance research involving animals on the UTMB campus.
• The ARC is fully AAALAC International accredited, PHS assured, and USDA approved.
• Housing and care are provided for all common research species, and biocontainment housing is available up to animal biosafety level 4 (ABSL 4).

Compliance and Accreditation

• UTMB operates to comply with the USDA Animal Welfare Act and follows the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
• The university is a registered Research Facility under the Animal Welfare Act and has a current assurance on file with the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW).

Salary and Benefits

• The salary range is $61,000 - $74,000, depending on years of experience, based on the NIH post-doctorate pay scale.