{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,15]],"date-time":"2026-08-15T12:26:47Z","timestamp":1786796807124,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786492800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786492800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Lab Anim"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This reflective perspective on leadership in research animal care programs and the management of their operations aims to provide guiding principles, transferable across regulatory and institutional systems, for navigating current influences and future challenges. Inimitable leaders are those who embrace management with elevated professional standards, innovative insights, and sensitivity to the needs of multiple stakeholders. While a foundation in veterinary medicine and animal science is the most common background among directors of animal research programs, particularly those employed in the United States, managers and leaders everywhere need to be prepared for a future that will rely on clear communication, operational efficiency, skilled negotiations, overt investments in a Culture of Care and the 3Rs, and self-education for continuous improvement. As the future landscape of traditional animal models and translational research shifts irreversibly toward non-animal and novel alternative methodologies, so too should the inimitable leaders of tomorrow evolve to navigate the nuanced balance among animal welfare, biomedical discovery, and public scrutiny surrounding science for the benefit of humans and animals alike.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00236772261471002","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T13:19:40Z","timestamp":1786540780000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Inimitable leadership in animal care and program oversight"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5498-5242","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"F. Claire","family":"Hankenson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University Laboratory Animal Resources, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA"},{"name":"Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Steven M.","family":"Niemi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VirtualVivarium LLC, Evanston, USA"},{"name":"Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_2","volume-title":"Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ","author":"Goleman D.","year":"1995","unstructured":"Goleman D. Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. 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Are leaders born or made? https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/are-leaders-born-or-made-perspectives-from-the-executive-suite\/#:~:text=Through%20our%20decades%20of%20research leaders%20are%20made%2C%20not%20born (2024 accessed 31 July 2026)."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_2","first-page":"129","volume-title":"Notes in the Category of C: Reflections on the care and use of laboratory animals","author":"Niemi S.","year":"2017","unstructured":"Niemi S. (ed.). Chapter 13: How do you define quality? In: Notes in the Category of C: Reflections on the care and use of laboratory animals. New York, NY: Academic Press, 2017, pp.129\u2013138."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_2","volume-title":"Schaum\u2019s outline of principles of accounting I","author":"Lerner J","year":"2009","unstructured":"Lerner J, Cashin J. Schaum\u2019s outline of principles of accounting I. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2009.","edition":"5"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_2","volume-title":"The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the world\u2019s greatest manufacturer","author":"Liker J.","year":"2020","unstructured":"Liker J. The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the world\u2019s greatest manufacturer. 2nd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2020.","edition":"2"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_12_2","volume-title":"The schmuck in my office: How to deal effectively with difficult people at work","author":"Foster JJ","year":"2017","unstructured":"Foster JJ, Joy M. The schmuck in my office: How to deal effectively with difficult people at work. New York, NY: St. Martin\u2019s Press, 2017."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_13_2","volume-title":"How to do nothing: Resisting the attention economy","author":"Odell J.","year":"2019","unstructured":"Odell J. How to do nothing: Resisting the attention economy. 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Acad Med 2020; 95: 1479\u20131482. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/acm.0000000000003577","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000003577"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vezeau N Kemelmakher H Silva Seixas J et al. Characterizing global gender representation in veterinary executive leadership. J Vet Med Educ 2025; 52: 132\u2013138. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3138\/jvme-2023-0092","DOI":"10.3138\/jvme-2023-0092"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_18_2","first-page":"11","volume-title":"Management of animal care and use programs in research, education, and testing","author":"Brown MJ","year":"2018","unstructured":"Brown MJ, Symonowicz C, Medina LV, et al. Culture of care: Organizational responsibilities. In: Weichbrod RH, Thompson GA, Norton JN (eds) Management of animal care and use programs in research, education, and testing. 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