Creating and Maintaining an Effective and Efficient In-Vivo Surgical Training Program

Matt entered the research field over 24 years ago as a lab animal technician at the TSI/Mason contract research facility. Since then, he has worked at contract facilities such as TSI and OREAD Biosafety as well as in industry at Pharmacia, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, and Biogen. During that period he has performed a variety of surgical procedures including device implantation, transplants, orthopedic defect, ocular and vascular implants, cardiac surgery, and brain and spinal procedures. His experience ranges from mice and rats to non-human primates and livestock. In addition, he holds four patents for novel surgical devices and implants and has been training technicians, scientists, veterinarians, and physicians in surgical techniques and procedures for over 18 years. Outside of the surgical realm, he has been a study director, sonographer, Safety Pharmacology scientist, and manager. Currently Matt supervises a team of associates at Biogen who conduct surgical and non-surgical studies. Matt was also on the board of directors for the Academy of Surgical Research for over ten years, serving as their program chair for three of them as well as educational chair for two. Currently he is the program chairman for the New England branch of AALAS.