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Office of Research Services

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Director's Biography

Dr. Jill Ascher comes to DVR with over 25 years of experience in veterinary medicine, including five years of experience at FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, where she most recently served as the Deputy Director of the Division of Veterinary Services.  Her diverse career in veterinary medicine includes over 15 years of experience in private practice in the US and internationally, and experience in industry, academia, and government.  Dr. Ascher's commitment to protecting and improving public health through support of laboratory animal sciences and her focus on customer service, with experience fostering collaborations with researchers, is critical in ensuring DVR continues to provide excellence in animal care and specialized research services to support the NIH intramural research mission.

After earning her undergraduate degree in microbiology from Cornell University, Dr. Ascher completed her Microbiology Master's at Boston University and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.  She then completed a residency in laboratory animal medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, concurrently earning a Public Health Master's.  Some of her key career achievements include being a team leader in coordinating and carrying out the relocation of the FDA/CBER Laboratory Animal Program from the NIH Bethesda, MD campus to the FDA White Oak campus in Silver Spring, MD. In addition, Dr. Ascher served as a lead veterinarian in setting up and managing the FDA Biosafety Level 3 animal research corridor, including the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Select Agent Research Laboratory. She organized and managed other special projects at FDA, such as gnotobiotic mouse and humanized mouse programs, among others. Dr. Ascher was named by the FDA Office of the Director to serve on a special internal assessment team with the purpose of ensuring adoption of best practices in animal research colony management throughout the 7 FDA Centers.


 

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