The Master of Laboratory Animal Science (MLAS) degree program in the Stanford University Department of Comparative Medicine is a graduate program designed for students who want to pursue advanced careers in biomedical research, focusing on animal modeling and biomethodology, laboratory animal science, organizational management and facility design, regulatory and compliance, and animal welfare.
The program’s academic courses are designed to build a solid foundation for a successful career in laboratory animal science and biomedical research. Our graduates find employment in pharmaceutical companies, academia or pursue training in Medical or Veterinary schools. The program was designed to give students the ability to customize their academic research experience.
The Master of Laboratory Animal Science degree program may also be taken by Stanford undergraduate students as a coterminal degree program.
Featured MLAS student projects
Kaleigh Beacham, MLAS 2023
Stereotypy is a type of abnormal repetitive behavior common in captive animal populations, including laboratory mice. Some mouse stereotypies involve seemingly strenuous behaviors and postures like backflipping, climbing, and twirling. Kaleigh's (she/her) project aimed to determine whether stereotypy causes repetitive strain injuries in these mice. The presence of repetitive strain injury presents a welfare concern and may also threaten the validity of studies performed on stereotypic animals.
Kyna Byrd, MLAS 2023
Kyna Byrd's (they/them) primary research interest is animal welfare and environmental enrichment. Previously as a Master's student in Dr. Garner's lab, their thesis project involved zebrafish enrichment and finding creative solutions to improve zebrafish well-being in laboratory settings without compromising the cleanliness of the tank environment. Now, Kyna is working as an Animal Welfare Specialist, implementing welfare and enrichment solutions to improve the lives of the animals at Stanford.
Kendall Coden, MLAS 2023
Kendall (she/her) graduated from the University of Michigan in 2019 and then completed an ITRA postbaccalaureate fellowship at the NIH prior to joining the Garner Lab at Stanford. Her work focused on understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of stereotyped behaviors. There is strong evidence that the presence of stereotypies signifies underlying neurological damage — both an issue of animal welfare as well as an issue in translation from pre-clinical to clinical models. Her work aimed to develop an intervention to prevent onset, or reduce severity of, these behaviors.