{"id":63942,"date":"2019-01-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/01\/24\/theresa-larson-receives-gold-u\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T17:27:07","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T22:27:07","slug":"theresa-larson-receives-gold-u","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/01\/24\/theresa-larson-receives-gold-u\/","title":{"rendered":"Theresa Larson receives Gold U"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some days Theresa Larson feels like an air traffic controller.<\/p>\n

As operations manager in the UNMC Office of Comparative Medicine, Larson is responsible for the daily operations of all animal-related duties including feeding, watering, cage changing and maintenance for all of the research animals. <\/p>\n

“We make sure the care of animals is top-notch,” she said.<\/p>\n

Larson, who oversees the animal husbandry staff and special building projects at UNMC, is the most recent recipient of the Gold U Award and exemplifies the medical center’s iTEACH values, which include providing excellent customer service to upwards of 175 principal investigators and hundreds of research technicians who utilize Comparative Medicine resources and facilities. <\/p>\n

“(Theresa) genuinely cares about the people she works with, the animals in our care, the researchers that Comparative Medicine supports, and the University,” said one of her nominators.<\/p>\n

A licensed vet tech, Larson has been with UNMC and Comparative Medicine since 2001 and is designated as a certified manager of animal resources. “What I love about this position,” she said, “is working with all the different departments and getting pieces of the puzzle to fit as best as possible to meet the researcher’s needs”<\/p>\n

And the pieces are many. The lighting, temperature and humidity within each animal space is controlled at all times. The animal’s health is constantly monitored, and their diets and space requirements differ per research study and species. “We keep detailed patient records and, as a 24-7 operation, we never close,” she said, recalling nights spent at the office on an air mattress.<\/p>\n

“It takes everybody to get the job done,” Larson said. “Our animal husbandry staff may feel like they do not contribute to the research here at UNMC, but without them we wouldn’t exist. And, without Facilities Management and Planning, and many other departments on campus, we wouldn’t exist. It takes great people working together to get the job done.”<\/p>\n

Larson supervises 27 staff members and ensures that all animals receive care that meet or exceed all laws, rules and regulations of the different governing bodies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Public Health Service and the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International.<\/p>\n

In addition to her husbandry responsibilities, she provides extensive training to husbandry techs, as well as principal investigators and their staff members, all of whom must follow the required operational procedures when working with research animals.<\/p>\n

Said one researcher: “She is an integral member of my research team.” <\/p>\n

Larson has always loved being around animals, saying, “I even asked for a cow for Christmas when I was in kindergarten.”<\/p>\n

And, she remembers the moment she recognized the impact of her work. “I saw a boy with cancer in the hallway and realized I was helping researchers find ways to better treat cancer . . . There isn’t anyone in the world that isn’t touched by scientific research.”<\/p>\n

Larson has seen these benefits firsthand, including six years ago when her daughter was life-flighted with a traumatic brain injury following a car accident. Her daughter’s recovery is a reminder of why Larson’s work matters, she said. “The only way we can advance knowledge is by research and that takes a team.”<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Larson is operations manager for the UNMC Office of Comparative Medicine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":63943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-intercom","department-unmc-today-todays-headlines","department-vice-chancellor-research","author_override-karen-burbach-unmc-public-relations"],"yoast_head":"\nTheresa Larson 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