AZA Reproductive Management Center

Internship Fall 2024

Position: Endocrine Lab Intern/Volunteer (unpaid)

Location: Saint Louis Zoo

Time commitment: ~8-10 hrs/wk over 2 consecutive days for Fall Semester 2024 (at least 4 hrs on Day 1 and at least 3 hrs on Day 2; remaining time is flexible)

Responsibilities/Tasks:

  1. Inventory and organize African Painted Dog fecal samples for hormone extractions
  2. Extract at least 50 fecal samples/week (which is a 3-day process) for two of our African Painted Dog research projects
  3. If time allows, carry out literature search on African Painted Dogs for these projects
  4. If time allows, learn hormone graphing in Sigma Plot or R

The length of time each goal will take will depend upon the proficiency of the person in the internship and how fast they work.

Application Directions:

If you are interested, please email a brief paragraph mentioning how you heard about this position, your major(s) and year in school, and why you are interested in this position, along with an updated resume or CV to Monica McDonald (mmcdonald@stlzoo.org). Review of applications will begin immediately until an offer is made and accepted. Applicant should be ready to officially begin work in early to mid-September 2024.

About the RMC:
The Association of Zoos & Aquarium’s (AZA) Reproductive Management Center (RMC) is tasked with providing science-based reproductive management advice to AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to support the long-term viability of animal populations in human care. The RMC conducts research on predictors of successful reproduction in AZA-managed animal populations, uses modeling to identify optimal breeding strategies that meet population genetic and demographic goals while maintaining fertility, investigates the safety, efficacy and reversibility of contraceptives used in wildlife, and provides contraceptive recommendations to animal managers.
Learn more about the RMC at https://stlzoo.org/conservation/reproductive-sciences/aza-reproductive-management-center