Name: Tiffany Bohlender
Employer: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo Omaha, NE
Job Title: Reproductive Sciences Research Assistant
Years with current employer: 2 years as of December 2011
Educational Background: Tiffany received her Bachelor's degree in Animal Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Job Description: At the zoo, Tiffany assists in various research projects as well as monitors hormones of breeding animals, assists with gamete recovery from genetically valuable deceased animals, maintains the Genome Resource Bank, and assists in the collection and cryopreservation of semen from different animals. It is important to maintain a genetic record of endangered animals and other exotic animals housed in the zoo to help ensure the animals continue to reproduce.
On a typical day Tiffany states, “Lately I've taken it upon myself to organize electronically and inventory the GRB (Genome Resource Bank) which is a series of cryotanks that contain anything from frozen semen samples to frozen embryos from many different species. I've been devoting a lot of time to that. Otherwise, I may process fecal samples, run and analyze EIAs, collect and freeze sperm from testicles of an animal that died suddenly, read journal articles on a wide range of studies, collect oocytes from cow ovaries to culture and in vitro fertilize to do studies on, monitor tiger salamanders for mating changes using different hormones, take care of gopher frog tadpoles, make reagents, fill nitrogen tanks, or just do general lab organization and cleaning.”
Favorite Component of Her Job: Tiffany enjoys organizing and streamlining data and records for various aspects of her job, especially with the Genome Resource Bank.
Least Favorite Component of Her Job: Ms. Bohlender states that with research there are hectic days and then there are mundane days and on these particular days, she admits to having difficulty finding things to keep her busy.
A Special Experience or Story about Her Job: Tiffany has the opportunity to work up close with many animals at the zoo to collect samples, including the big cats like the lions.
Tiffany’s Recommendations to Those Interested in a Career Similar to Her Own: “Get lab experience in any way possible. If there's a certain field that you would like to go into, try to find an internship or undergrad work in that area, but don't limit yourself. I originally wanted to be a vet, but then that changed and I wanted to go into cancer research. Since I needed a job in college, I ended up in a reproductive physiology lab in the Animal Science Department at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as an undergrad worker doing a UCARE [undergraduate creative activities and research experiences] project. Turns out I loved it. I would've never found out how interesting reproductive physiology research is if I hadn't been open to trying something completely out of my comfort zone."
Further Comments: Tiffany states, “ Zoo work is different than academia or industry. It's a weird hybridization of both. On the one hand, you can kind of run down rabbit holes of projects that are unique, but you still have to be able to justify the practical application of the research. Coming from academia, it's been a little difficult for me to adjust to the answer of 'that does sound interesting, but the project has no application to keepers or field workers.' To me, if the project increases knowledge of a species, that alone makes the project worth the effort. Arguing this view and changing my perspective on the reason behind research has been a new experience for me.”
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