Mandy Horn

Areas of expertise

+Animal health monitoring
+Small animal models

专业

+Small animal health monitoring
+IACUC
+Technical support
+Project management

What are your responsibilities at Envigo?

Most of what I do is focused on internal support, animal health monitoring, and answering questions on animal models or services for our customers. I interact with several departments within Envigo on a daily basis and serve on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). During my tenure with Envigo I’ve gained knowledge in several areas and share my experiences and historical knowledge to help guide discussions.

What inspired you to pursue a career in science?

My formal educational background is primarily in large animals. I have a masters in ruminant nutrition and reproduction where my work focused on nutritional supplementation of vitamin E on both cow reproductive efficiency and subsequent suckling calf immune response. Following graduation, I stumbled into this lab animal industry. I knew I had the science background and that I’d be able to apply it to other industries. I really just fell in love with it - no two days are the same. It’s always interesting and I enjoy the investigation and discovery of new things and how the animals are utilized to support human and animal medicine, treatments and cures. It’s so interesting to me.

What are some of the best aspects of your job?

I really enjoy the people who work with me. I love to learn new things and the analytical nature of science. So, being able to continuously learn and grow is so exciting to me. This work we do is real. These animals are life savers and I’m very humbled by it.

What are some key attributes to being successful in your role?

It’s important to have a good science background. Not necessarily with laboratory animals, just the very basics of science. Also, the ability to be flexible. You need to be able to adapt, move, and grow as the climate changes. In my time in the industry, there have been many improvements in colony health screening and organisms that have been discovered. You need the ability to manage all of those to make sure the colonies are properly screened.

What are some of your favorite things to do outside of Envigo?

Much of my time outside of Envigo is spent working on our family farm. We raise and exhibit registered Shorthorn beef cattle and Boer goats. During the summers, we enjoy growing a huge vegetable garden as well as flowers and try to spend as much time outdoors as possible enjoying nature.