Laboratory Animal Behavior Intern

Role Description:

Join a global animal welfare program that places behavioral medicine at the center of daily clinical care. This internship is designed for a PhD student in Behavioral Animal Science or DVM student with a passion for the clinical application of laboratory animal medicine and behavior who is considering or actively pursuing ACLAM board eligibility. Under the mentorship of board-certified laboratory animal veterinarians, you will gain hands-on exposure to laboratory animal and behavioral health assessments, species-specific enrichment programs, and welfare improvement initiatives across a diverse animal population. You will also complete an intern project that you can carry forward into your professional career and/or ACLAM board portfolio.

LABORATORY ANIMAL BEHAVIOR INTERN

Location: Lincoln, NE

Internship Summary:

This internship is structured to accelerate your development as a laboratory animal clinician/scientist with a behavioral lens. By the end of the program, you will have built meaningful hands-on experience inside one of the world's leading animal health companies — and you will have contributed to it in a real way. Your project, grounded in the clinical application of behavior and animal welfare, will be a direct expression of Zoetis's purpose: nurturing our world and humankind by advancing care for animals. What you learn here, and what you leave behind, will matter.

Internship Job Duties:

• Complete a mentored project focused on a clinical behavioral welfare challenge or project of your choosing—developing a practical solution and presenting your findings to the program team.

• Observe and participate in behavioral welfare assessments alongside supervising laboratory animal veterinarians, learning to identify species-typical vs. abnormal behaviors in rodents, companion animals, agricultural animals, and other laboratory species.

• Shadow and assist with the evaluation of environmental enrichment strategies and low-stress, positive reinforcement-based handling protocols under direct veterinary supervision.

• Participate in clinical rounds with the veterinary team, gaining exposure to behavioral assessments, humane endpoint recognition, and welfare-based clinical decision-making.

• Assist in the collection and organization of behavioral welfare data using digital tools, contributing to program metrics that support continuous welfare improvement.

• Participate in staff enrichment and training activities, gaining experience communicating behavioral science concepts to animal care technicians and husbandry teams.

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Internship Qualifications:

Education and Experience (required):

• Pursuing a PhD in Behavioral Animal Science

• Or pursuing a DVM or VMD degree from an AVMA-accredited institution.

• Demonstrated interest in laboratory animal medicine, including eligibility or intent to pursue ACLAM board certification; prior laboratory animal medicine coursework, externship, or clinical rotation experience is a plus.

Knowledge and Skills (desired):

• Foundational knowledge of animal behavioral science, including normal and abnormal behavior patterns in common laboratory species.

• Interest in the clinical—rather than purely research—application of behavioral medicine: welfare assessment, enrichment, low-stress handling, and patient-centered care.

• Basic familiarity with behavioral welfare assessment frameworks such as the Five Domains model or grimace scale methodology.

• Experience using digital tools and applications including, but not limited to, Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Power BI or comparable platforms for data organization and presentation.

The following hourly pay rates reflect the anticipated base pay for this position:

If the selected candidate is a student pursuing an Associate-level degree: $16.00 per hour

If the selected candidate is a student pursuing an Undergraduate-level degree: $22.00 per hour

If the selected candidate is a student pursing a Graduate-level degree: $32.50 per hour

If the selected candidate is a student pursuing a Doctorate-level degree: $36.00 per hour

The following hourly pay rates reflect the anticipated base pay for this position if a selected candidate were to be located in California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois (Chicago area), Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington (Seattle area):

Student pursuing an Associate-level degree: $17.00 per hour

Student pursuing an Undergraduate-level degree: $24.20 per hour

Student pursing a Graduate-level degree: $36.40 per hour

Student pursuing a Doctorate-level degree: $40.30 per hour

Full timeRegularColleague

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