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Animal Behaviorist
Animal behaviorism is the scientific study of animal behavior and involves investigating everything animals do. Animals studied include single-celled organisms, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Animal behaviorists investigate the relationship of animals to their physical environment as well as to other organisms. Studied topics include how animals find and defend resources, avoid predators, choose mates and reproduce and care for their young.

Animal Research Facility Manager
An animal research facility manager is responsible for the day-to-day supervision and overall management of laboratory-animal care personnel and the animal facility. Some of the manager’s functions include procurement of animals for research and teaching purposes, supervision of animal laboratory technicians and other part-time personnel, control of animal holding facilities and helping to obtain proper veterinary care for the animals. In addition, managers are responsible for ensuring conditions vital to the well-being of animals continuously are met.

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Entomologist
An entomologist is a scientist who studies insects. Entomologists have many important jobs, such as the study of the classification, life cycle, distribution, physiology, behavior, ecology and population dynamics of insects. Entomologists also study urban pests, forest pests, agricultural pests and medical and veterinary pests and their control. These scientists may work with beneficial insects like honeybees, silkworms, ladybird beetles and parasitic wasps. Entomologists are researchers, teachers and consultants and can work for private companies, universities or government agencies.

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Genetic Counselor
Genetic counselors help people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease. This process integrates interpretation of family and medical histories to assess the chance of disease occurrence or recurrence; education about inheritance, testing, management, prevention, resources and research; and counseling to promote informed choices and adaptation to the risk or condition.

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Immunologist
Immunologists are research scientists or practicing specialists who study, analyze and/or treat disease processes that involve the immune system. The immune system is the system within an organism that is responsible for protecting the organism from infection by foreign matter. Immunologists particularly are interested in diseases that affect natural immunity. These include such diseases as allergies, sinus inflations, pneumonia and abscesses that occur repeatedly even with treatment.

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Laboratory Animal Technician
The biomedical research facility is one of the primary settings in which a laboratory animal technician works. Some of the technician’s typical duties include administering medications to lab animals orally or topically, preparing samples for laboratory examinations and recording information about an animal’s genealogy, diet, weight, medications, food intake and clinical signs of pain and distress. Some laboratory animal technicians, also called veterinary technologists, vaccinate newly admitted animals and occasionally are required to euthanize seriously ill, injured or unwanted animals.

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Mammalogist
Mammalogy is the branch of biology that deals with the study of mammals. It encompasses such diverse areas as the structure, function, evolutionary history, ethology, taxonomy, management and economics of mammals. Approximately 4,200 species of living mammals and numerous extinct species comprise the material for study. Included are egg-laying echidnas, the platypus, pouched marsupials, tiny shrews, bats, mice, whales, apes and elephants, to name only a few. The study of mammals can be as diverse as the organisms themselves. A mammalogist might study a wide variety of topics on a particular species or group of mammals or might take a comparative approach and investigate one aspect with regard to a wide variety of mammals.

Marine Biologist
The field of marine biology — the study of aquatic organisms, their behaviors and their interactions with the environment — is considered one of the most all-encompassing fields of oceanography. Because there are so many possible topics of study within the field of marine biology, many researchers select a particular interest in which to specialize. Specializations can be based on a particular species, organism, behavior, technique or ecosystem. For example, a marine biologist may choose to study a single species of clams or all clams that are native to a climate or region.

Microbiologist
Microbiology is the study of living organisms that are invisible to the naked eye, such as bacteria and fungi. Though not living organisms, viruses also are studied by microbiologists. Though many people tend to group them together, there are many different types of microbiology. Medical microbiology is perhaps the most well-known because it deals with the roles that microbes have in human illness. Other types include veterinary microbiology, environmental microbiology, food microbiology and pharmaceutical microbiology. All these deal with the way microbes or microorganisms affect animals, the environment, the food supply and the health care industry.

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Parasitologist
Parasitologists study parasites wherever they occur and whether they are viruses, bacteria, worms or insects. Parasites are organisms that use other species of plants and animals as hosts. The hosts provide the environment in which the parasite lives. In the history of life on earth, the parasitic lifestyle has been incredibly successful; in fact, the number of species of parasites exceeds the number of free-living species.

Primatologist
Primatology is the study of nonhuman primates. It is a diverse discipline, and primatologists can be found in biology, anthropology, psychology and other departments. Some primatologists focus exclusively on nonhuman primates, while others study human primates as models for diseases or as part of complex ecosystems. Most people who identify themselves as primatologists hold postgraduate training, and these individuals come from a wide variety of fields and make up a diverse group. Primatologists include scientists, educators, conservationists, medical researchers and veterinarians, among others.

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Veterinarian (Research, Clinical, Laboratory Animal)
Research veterinarians provide the daily veterinary care required for all research animals. The primary roles of a research veterinarian include managing animal resources, providing adequate veterinary care, consulting with researchers on animal models, assisting in regulatory compliance, performing independent and collaborative research, teaching and training. The wide range of job functions creates diverse opportunities and challenges unique to this veterinary specialty.

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Zoologist
Zoologists are life scientists who study animals, observing them in the laboratory and in their natural habitat. They study the origin and development of species as well as their habits, behaviors and interactions. Zoologists, who also research the development of animal diseases, sometimes known as animal scientists or animal biologists because zoology is the branch of biology that deals with the animal kingdom.

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