News

NEW COURSE:

Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research

We are happy to invite you to join the course organized together with the University of Eastern Finland, A.I. Virtanen Institute, and Ferring Ventures Oy.

Course description: New approach methodologies (NAMs), comprising in vitro and in silico approaches, aim at adding an advanced mechanistical understanding in biomedical research. These methods support the 3R principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) and have gained increasing importance following regulatory changes, including the European Union’s Directive 2010/63/EU, which promotes the reduction of animal experimentation and the FDA’s decision to no longer require animal testing prior to certain human drug trials. This course will provide postgraduate and doctoral students with a comprehensive overview of NAMs applied in biomedical research, pharmaceutical industry, toxicology testing, and regulatory decision making. The course will cover advanced human-relevant in vitro models such as organoids and organ-on-chip systems, and in silico approaches, including systems biology, machine learning, and AI-based tools for disease modelling and drug discovery. Recent technological developments and scientific findings arising from NAMs will be presented as well as approaches for their regulatory acceptance, and hands-on educational initiatives. Speakers from academia, industry, and regulatory bodies will present their work and discuss how experimental, computational, and AI-driven approaches can be integrated to improve translational relevance and regulatory decision-making. Students will have the opportunity to engage in informal discussions with invited speakers and visit a local biomedical research company to gain practical insights into the implementation of NAMs in industry.

More information about the course is available here.

Registration is open by August 10th, 2026 via this link.

SAVE THE DATE: Anesthesia and Analgesia of Laboratory Animals: Why Monitoring Matters

Date: 25 September 2026
Place: University of Turku

Join us for a one-day seminar and hands-on workshop focusing on anesthesia, analgesia, and monitoring in laboratory animals. The program will include expert lectures, practical demonstrations, and hands-on training covering rodent anesthesia, anesthetic equipment, vital sign monitoring, and modern monitoring technologies.

Further information and registration details will be announced later.

Organized by the Central Animal Laboratory, University of Turku and supported by Scand-LAS.

save the date!

Annual FIN3R Symposium 2026 will take place on October 27-29th, 2026 at University of Eastern Finland (Kuopio). This years' theme is: "Partners in Progress: People, Animals, and the 3Rs". For more information, please click here.

Join our mailing list!

We are happy to invite you to join our new mailing list! Here, we will distribute the information related to the FIN3R activities, as well as a bi-yearly newsletter.

Please note that the list is administered by Tampere University, and your data will be safely stored. Also, note that any member of the mailing list can distribute messages with the admin's approval. However, only the administrator of the list can see the contact information of the people who have subscribed.