The Yerkes National Primate Center, Division of Animal Resources Veterinary Externship Program is designed to allow third and fourth year veterinary medical students the opportunity to experience the multifaceted field of Laboratory Animal Medicine as specifically relating to nonhuman primates. In addition, the student can expect to learn the particular needs, regulations and guidelines associated with the use of non-human primates in biomedical research. Laboratory Animal Medicine is a board-certified discipline that combines clinical medicine, preventative medicine, pathology, recognition/development of animal models, regulatory oversight, and collaborative/independent biomedical research.
Twelve veterinarians supervise the experience, and the students will work closely with veterinary residents and veterinary technicians to gain a working knowledge and appreciation of the specialty of nonhuman primate medicine. For additional details see next section.
The student will spend a minimum of two weeks at the Main Research Center on the Emory University campus. The variety of species includes, but not limited to, squirrel monkeys, macaques and chimpanzees. The rest of the time will be spent at the Yerkes Field Station located approximately 30 miles from the main campus. The Field Station is our breeding facility composed mainly of outdoor compounds and large corals of group housed rhesus macaques. The work day is from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM. You might be required to remain available for extra working hours should interesting clinical cases need extra care. Each day routine will vary but will include clinical rounds and observations of the animals, report of clinical problems to the veterinarians and follow-up of those cases with the clinicians. Observation of different types of surgeries and different imaging sessions (MRI, PET), participation in anesthesia monitoring and post-operative care as well as different experimental procedures requested by investigators such as bleeding, bronchoscopy, rectal and lymph nodes biopsies, CSF taps, i.v. infusions, etc., will also be part of the daily training. You also have the opportunity to get involved in necropsy and histopathology of interesting select clinical cases. Finally, you will attend an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee meeting to better understand the process involved in reviewing animal research proposals. A variety of literature and documents will be provided which we will expect you to read and consult.
Students are encouraged to spend a minimum of three weeks in order to provide a complete overview of the laboratory animal medicine specialty. Students are encouraged to focus on areas of interest, and seek a variety of experiences while visiting. The experience may include some didactic/self-study time along with the more hands-on aspects of the program. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and participate as much as possible.