The laboratory animal industry is more vocationally diverse than many realize. In addition to veterinarians and technicians, there are niche managerial positions that combine a love of animals with a love of people. Melissa Williams, BS, LATG, a contractor with SoBran, Inc., talks with Lab Animal assistant editor Owen Young about her contract support at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIAID, NIH) in Bethesda, MD.

Tell me about contract work at NIH.

I started in the industry 12 years ago when NIH first began a transition toward contract staffing for animal care positions. Currently, most animal care positions are employed by contract companies. I think alone, SoBran has over 300 employees on campus servicing several different institutes' animal care programs. At least three other contractors have work on site as well, so I would say there are more than 500 employees contracted for animal care through the government.

You are a Senior Deputy Program Manager. What does that mean?

I assist the Program Manager with management of day-to-day oversight for the NIAID's Comparative Medicine Branch animal care program. We are responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient staffing available for each of the animal facilities and that all standard operating procedures are adhered to. This entails everything from implementation of quality assurance at the facility level, managing a training department to recruiting, interviewing, coordinating other human resource needs as well as being involved as a representative on an IACUC. Basically, we manage any position that we have hired as a direct relation to the needs of our client. We hire an individual, manage them, and ensure that they meet the performance expectations of the client and program.

How did you get involved in this work?

For me, I fell into the industry. I have an Animal Science degree from Virginia Tech. I completed a summer internship at the Department of Veterinary Resources at NIH. During that time, I just fell in love with the job; I could still work with animals but also use my science background that I obtained in school. I finished my last semester at Virginia Tech and then started my career as a vet tech at NIH in March of 1994. I was very fortunate to work with individuals that were dedicated to the industry in a facility that supported critical care projects for many different institutes. It enabled me to work with a variety of species and taught me early on in my career how to multi-task, problem solve and be customer service oriented. Over the years, I was promoted from a technician to a lead technician and eventually became a Senior Animal Facility Specialist.

What led you to your current position?

I wanted to take my acquired management and people skills from my previous job and apply them to affect a larger group. I was offered a great opportunity to use my experience to support a program that was looking for new ideas to grow their existing animal care program. I wanted the challenge of trying to replicate my success in the industry to affect a 'bigger picture'.

How much contact do you have with animals now?

Currently, not much at all; that is one aspect that I do miss. But because of my experience as a vet tech, I am able to provide some training and help out when needed. I still get in the facilities on a weekly basis and ensure the animals are cared for appropriately from all aspects. I think it is important to understand all aspects of this industry: I have seen college graduates hired right in to a technician role based on the education alone, but I think they miss valuable pieces like the cage wash and caretaking responsibilities. You can't run an animal facility from A to Z if you don't understand all the roles of the facility team.

What qualities are vital to your job?

You need to be extremely flexible and able to multi-task. My job is problem solving. In this position, you need to be proactive, and, if possible, see a problem coming and solve it before it affects the operation. You also need to be people-oriented, mentoring and interacting with individuals at all levels. Finally, understanding and having experience in many different aspects of the lab animal industry.

Can you describe a typical problem solving situation?

At times, investigators need to do work with species that the existing animal facilities cannot house. In one instance, an investigator needed to use a species for select agent work and were able to find a biocontainment facility on campus but we had to get it equipped for the research in a four-week period. We had to obtain all the necessary equipment and identify staff members already in the program that had ABSL3 training that we could then train to support the research and facility. This included ordering supplies, going through a check list of what we needed: food, bedding, cages, etc. We pulled everything together, utilized our existing resources and got the job done. Being able to accommodate the unexpected needs of the program and support the NIAID research in a way that extremely satisfies the clients, that's one aspect of my job that is so rewarding.