Tutkijoiden jatkokoulutus on olennainen osa 3R-osaamisen ylläpidossa. FIN3R järjestää 3R-alueen koulutustilaisuuksia ja kursseja.  FIN3R osallistuu myös muiden tahojen sekä yliopistojen tohtorikoulujen kurssien järjestämiseen.

Koe-eläinkurssit

Yliopistot järjestävät säännöllisesti pätevöittämiskoulutusta koe-eläinten kanssa työskenteleville henkilöille. Valtakunnallisesti harmonisoiduilla kursseilla koulutetaan toimenpiteiden tekemiseen ja hankkeiden suunnitteluun. Kurssien tiedot löytyvät kunkin yliopiston tai yliopiston koe-eläinkeskuksen kotisivuilta.

2024

Webinaarit

• FIN3R Webinaari, 8.10.2024 klo 14 (Helsinki, EET), “French Centre for the 3Rs: implementing the 3Rs, promoting of open science and improving the quality of research”

Puhuja: Athanassia Sotiropoulos, PhD, director of the French 3R center (FC3R)

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (Helsinki University)

In 2021, the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research and leading French public research organisations created the French Centre for 3Rs (FC3R). The primary objective of the FC3R is to promote and implement the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement principles in animal experimentation throughout France. This objective is pursued by promoting responsible and innovative research, funding research projects, providing comprehensive training, ensuring transparent communication, and supporting researchers in their experimental design.

To help researchers with their experimental design and to share their unpublished results, FC3R has created a dedicated platform, the FC3R Short Notes. This platform encourages Open Science, promotes robustness in research and minimises redundancy. Eligible studies include original research or replications with any type of positive, negative, or inconclusive results. FC3R Short Notes are concise (limited to two figures and 2,000 words) and are assigned a DOI after evaluation and validation by the FC3R Scientific Committee and external reviewers. The evaluation criteria focus on experimental design, treatment of results and statistical analyses rather than perceived significance and impact. FC3R Short Notes are not limited to animal experiments and include in vitro and in silico studies that promote the 3Rs in research. The Short Notes platform has an international scope and is hosted on the HAL open science portal. The publications are easy to find, well referenced by search engines and linked to other services such as ORCID and possibly pre-registration platforms.

PUHUJASTA: Athanassia Sotiropoulos, PhD, director of the French 3R center (FC3R)

Athanassia Sotiropoulos has a PhD in cellular and molecular biology and is a research director at Inserm. Together with Pascal Maire, she heads the "Neuromuscular Development, Genetics and Physiopathology" team at the Institut Cochin. Her scientific work has focused mainly on cellular and transcriptional signalling and on understanding the plasticity of adult skeletal muscle. Since December 2021, she has headed the GIS FC3R, the French reference centre for all questions related to the ethical principle of the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine).

Tallenne löytyy täältä.

• FIN3R Webinaari, 10.9.2024 klo 14 (Helsinki, EET), Refining Rodent Oral Administration Protocols: Exploring Advantages, Limitations, and Recent Developments

Puhuja: Dr. Paulin Jirkof (University of Zurich)

In drug development, a focus on oral formulations aligns with human treatment practices. Preclinical assessments demand crucial oral testing of compounds, often carried out through oral gavage in mice and rats. However, this widely used method lacks accuracy in replicating voluntary substance intake of humans, posing risks of injury and stress to laboratory rodents. This presentation scrutinizes the pros and cons of oral gavage and explores alternative approaches, including uncontrolled oral intake (e.g., via drinking water), and refined, controlled voluntary ingestion protocols. The Micropipette-Guided Drug Administration (MDA) method, employing palatable solutions like sweetened condensed milk diluted with water, will be introduced. The talk will evaluate evidence on the suitability of these alternative methods for administering various experimental substances, such as analgesics, tamoxifen or others, while prioritizing animal welfare.

PUHUJASTA: Dr. Paulin Jirkof, Office for Animal Welfare and 3R, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Paulin Jirkof earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Management, Technology, and Economics from ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Her research focuses on refinement measures for laboratory rodents, with a particular emphasis on assessing and improving animal welfare. Currently serving as the 3R coordinator in the Office for Animal Welfare and 3R at the University of Zurich, Paulin also assumes the role of Chair on the executive board of the Swiss 3R Competence Center. Additionally, she is a board member of the Swiss Society for Laboratory Animal Science and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Laboratory Animals.

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (Helsinki University)

Tallenne löytyy täältä. 

• FIN3R Webinaari, 7.5.2024 klo 14 (EET): ​Severity assessment in preclinical psychiatry research

Puhuja: Dr. Anne Mallien (Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg)

Distress is an important factor in many psychiatric disorders. Therefore, keeping track of burdens and severity is essential especially in preclinical psychiatry research. Ethical and legal reasons rightfully demand the limitation of burdens and distress to a minimum to prevent unnecessary harm. This results in a dilemma to balance the harm for the animals with the gain of knowledge. The 3Rs principles and harm-benefit-analysis are common practice and integrated into European legislation. This legislation classifies severity into four categories: mild, moderate, severe, and non-recovery. We aim to provide evidence-based data to assess severity of common procedures in preclinical psychiatry studies in mice and rats. We have assessed and compared stressors like chronic restraint, foot shocks, swimming and social isolation, but also genetic alterations using readouts like nesting, burrowing, fecal corticosterone metabolites, saccharin preference, activity and many more. Interestingly, some stressors are classified as "severe" by the law, but compared to other (moderate) somatic models, they do not show more severe impairments. This is not to say that stress in psychiatric research is harmless. Clearly, it can and will lead to negative affective states. To find the balance between refinement and the necessary triggered effects in the research is the goal.

PUHUJASTA: Dr. Anne Mallien (Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg)

Anne studied biology and neuroscience at Heidelberg University and did her PhD with Prof. Dr. Peter Gass at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim. The topic of her thesis was cognitive stability and flexibility in mice studied in operant touchscreen chambers. Importantly, it also included investigations on the effects of food restriction and testing in the touchscreen boxes on the animal wellbeing. Therefore, neuroscience and refinement research always go hand in hand for Anne. As a post-doctoral researcher, she stayed in the same institution and joined the DFG project FOR 2591:  Severity assessment in animal-based research. Since 2019, Anne is the head of animal facility and continues also as a PI in the FOR2951

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (Helsinki University)

• FIN3R Webinaari, 15.4.2024 klo 14 (EET): “An Evidence Based Approach to Severity Assessment in Animal Based Research”

Puhuja: Dr. Andre Bleich (Hannover Medical School, Germany)

Severity assessment is indispensable in animal based research for several reasons: it is a legal requirement, the basis for valid scientific results, and the foundation of any refinement measure. However, early identification and quantification of harm, suffering or distress is still a challenging task especially in flight animals. Moreover, disagreement on the severity of procedures and models based on personal experience and values. To overcome this situation, a German research consortium developed various methods, parameters and data science approaches to enable evidence based, objective and gradable assessment of the severity of procedures and models.

PUHUJASTA: Dr. Andre Bleich (Hannover Medical School, Germany).

André Bleich is director of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility of the Hannover Medical School and thereby responsible for the university´s animal care and husbandry, animal welfare, and LAS-training programmes. He is trained as veterinarian, German and European board certified in LAM, and active in scientific/academic organizations, i.a. the training and examination committee of ECLAM. His research focuses on 3R, microbiome, murine pathogens, as well as in vivo and in vitro models for inflammatory bowel diseases and resulted in more than 160 publications. André Bleich is initiator and spokesperson of two research driven 3R consortia: “Severity assessment in animal based research” (with R. Tolba; https://severity-assessment.de/ ) and “Replace and Reduce in Lower Saxony”.

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (Helsinki University)

• FIN3R Webinaari, 2.4.2024 klo 14 (Helsinki, EET): “PREPARE for Better Science: A practical guide to available resources”

Puhuja: Dr. Adrian Smith (Norecopa, Norway).

We should all strive for better science, to ensure that it is ethically acceptable, scientifically valid, reproducible and (in the case of animal research and testing) translatable to the target species. Animal welfare, health and safety, culture of care, and transparency for all stakeholders have also become important elements of the modern research ecosystem.

It is now 40 years since the first guidelines for reporting animal research were developed. While good reporting is an essential part of the research pipeline, the issues mentioned above must be discussed from day 1 of planning studies which appear to involve animal use, and they must be addressed throughout the study, using appropriate guidance and checklists. This approach has been used for many years in industry, but there are still serious flaws in the way in which animal research is carried out, not least within academia. A significant part of the problem lies within inadequate dialogue between scientists and animal facility staff.

This webinar will give an overview of the current concerns within animal research and advice on how we can improve our science. It will also demonstrate how the PREPARE guidelines, in combination with other resources, can be used as a framework for developing robust studies which fulfill the above criteria.

PUHUJASTA: Dr. Adrian Smith

Adrian Smith is a British veterinarian, resident in Norway since 1980. He has had many different positions within the laboratory animal community in Norway, including the Chair in Laboratory Animal Science at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Since 2007 he has been secretary of Norecopa (https://norecopa.no), Norway's National Consensus Platform for replacement, reduction and refinement of animal experiments. Adrian is a firm believer in good animal welfare, not least because it is a win-win situation for both the animals and scientists, since the data obtained from these animals is the best possible.

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (Helsinki University)

More information at: https://norecopa.no/staff/adrian-smith

Tallenne löytyy täältä. 

• FIN3R Webinaari, 12.3.2024. klo 14 (Helsinki, EET): “Preregistration of Animal Studies”

Puhuja:  Dr. Julia Menon (Preclinicaltrials.eu, The Netherlands)

Preregistration, an open science practice, involves recording a study protocol before the start of the experiment.  Widely used in clinical research (e.g. clinicaltrials.gov), preregistration is gaining traction in animal studies by enhancing transparency, robustness, and preventing unintentional study duplication. Dedicated platforms such as Preclinicaltrials.eu simplify the preregistration process, making it accessible, flexible, fast, and secure. Join this webinar to explore the benefits of preregistration for improving the quality and transparence of animal studies, and learn about preclinicaltrials.eu features to preregister yourself in the future.

PUHUJASTA: JULIA MENON

Julia Menon is the Daily Director of Preclinicaltrials.eu, a registration platform tailored to animal studies. She is from background a biologist (graduated from the Radboud University, the Netherlands) but has evolved in her career through meta-research, particularly systematic reviews and qualitative studies. She is a 3Rs advocate, focussing on tools and methods to improve animal research's transparency and robustness. Her current focus lies on preregistration of animal studies and how it may improve study quality and accessibility. She is also administrator for the platform PROSPERO, section editor for Laboratory Animals, and board member of the Young TPI association.

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (Helsinki University)

Tallenne löytyy täältä. 

• Fin3R Webinaari, 27.2.2024 klo 14 (Helsinki, EET), Aging Lab Animals, Aging Research, Aging Standards 

The concept of standards has been embedded in lab animal care since the early days and for good reason. They have been useful for improving animal welfare and scientific data integrity. But we continuously learn more about how animals are influenced by their environment (including their microbiome as well as how we interact with them) while standards do not change. When do standards jeopardize rather than support research and discourage innovations in husbandry, breeding, and veterinary care? Why should one-size-fits-all continue to be followed blindly when we can easily customize the lab animal’s environment and experiences as knowledge evolves and new needs arise? Examples of barriers to progress and options will be presented for discussion. 

PUHUJASTA: STEVEN M. NIEMI, DVM, DACLAM 

With over 40 years’ experience in biomedical research and commercial biotechnology, Steve has held senior management positions in contract drug and device development, biotech start-ups in human gene therapy and food animal genomics, and laboratory animal care and assurance. He is a Diplomate and past president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and has served on numerous boards and national task forces addressing medical product development and laboratory animal welfare. Steve earned an AB with a concentration in Biology from Harvard College, a DVM from Washington State University, and received a US Public Health Service National Research Service Award while a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School in 1991 and was a 2019-2020 Visiting Fellow in the Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School. Steve currently is Attending Veterinarian and Director, Animal Science Center, Boston University and Adjunct Professor, Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. 

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (Helsinki University)

Tallenne löytyy täältä. 

• Fin3R WEBINARI, 15.1.2023 klo 14 (Helsinki, EET): Robust experimental design with the Experimental Design Assistant 

There is growing concern in the community about the reliability of biomedical research results. Experimental design flaws, inappropriate analysis methods and incomplete reporting have all contributed to the publishing of inconsistent results. The NC3Rs has developed resources to assist researchers in designing more robust experiments, selecting the appropriate analysis method and reporting the experiment thoroughly. One such resource is the Experimental Design Assistant (EDA; https://eda.nc3rs.org.uk). The EDA is free online software with a supporting website to help researchers design more robust in vivo experiments.  

This talk will cover key strategies to improve experimental design and highlight how the EDA can help researchers implement these. For example, the EDA can analyse your experimental design and suggest changes or highlight the implications of your specific experimental design choices, enabling you to make informed choices. Optimised experimental plans can then be communicated by exporting a PDF summarising key experimental design information from the EDA or sharing your experimental plan via a URL. This can make clearly communicating experimental plans with colleagues, funders and ethical review bodies easier, enhancing opportunities for collaboration, feedback and transparent reporting of your in vivo experiments. 

Puhuja: Dr. Esther Pearl (NC3Rs, UK) 

Esther Pearl is the Programme Manager for Experimental design at the UK’s National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (the NC3Rs). Esther works to develop tools and resources to help researchers design experiments. This includes the Experimental Design Assistant (EDA), an online tool to guide researchers through the design of animal experiments, and the ARRIVE guidelines, which encourage improved design and reporting of animal research. Esther completed a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Otago, New Zealand and worked with Xenopus as a postdoctoral researcher in the field of developmental biology at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, Canada, the National Xenopus Resource, USA and King’s College London, UK.   

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (University of Helsinki, FIN3R Refinement Director)

Tallenne löytyy täältä.

Työpajat

Työpaja nuorille tutkijoille  - “Tutkimusdatan luotettavuus“
Päivämäärä: 17.5.2024, Helsinki, Suomi

Paikka: Biokeskus 3 (Viikin kampus)

Aika: 9-15

Avainsanat: Toistettavuus; Virhelähteet; Tietojen eheys; Hyvä tutkimuskäytäntö

Työpajan tavoite

Tämän työpajan päätavoitteena on syventää osallistujien ymmärrystä erilaisista tutkimukseen liittyvistä virhelähteistä ja tarjota heille strategioita näiden vaikutusten lieventämiseksi. Keskeisiä aiheita ovat muun muassa tietojen haavoittuvuuden syyt, tutkimussuunnittelun virhelähteet, ohjeet tietojen eheyden säilyttämiseksi ja menetelmät tutkimuskäytäntöjen parantamiseksi.

Tapahtumassa järjestetään käytännönläheinen osio, jossa työryhmät osallistuvat yhteisiin aivoriihi-istuntoihin. Näissä istunnoissa suunnitellaan toimintoja ja toimenpiteitä, jotka voidaan ottaa käyttöön osallistujien tutkimuslaboratorioissa. Tämä interaktiivinen osuus tarjoaa runsaasti aikaa ja mahdollisuuksia keskusteluihin, joissa pohditaan käytännön näkökohtia tutkimuksen tiedon laadun parantamiseksi.

Työpaja sisältää
· Luennoitsijan, jolla on sekä akateeminen että teollinen tausta

· Johdannon tutkimuksessa yleisesti esiintyviin ongelmiin
· Pienryhmäkeskustelut, joiden tarkoituksena on syventää ja parantaa ymmärrystä käsiteltävistä aiheista.

Ryhmän koko ja kohderyhmä

Työpaja on suunnattu 15-20 tutkijalle, jotka ovat uransa varhaisessa vaiheessa (väitöskirjatutkijat, tutkijatohtorit ja nuoret tutkimusryhmän johtajat), jotka työskentelevät suomalaisissa laitoksissa. Hyväksytyille osallistujille, jotka saapuvat Helsingin ulkopuolelta, voidaan korvata matkakustannukset Suomessa (lisätietoja hyväksymisen yhteydessä).

Kieli
Työpaja pidetään englanniksi.

Yhteystiedot

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (tutkimuskoordinaattori, HiLIFE Lab Animal Center) - vootele.voikar@helsinki.fi

Tutori: Björn Gerlach (GoEQIPD) - bjoern.gerlach@paasp.net

Hakuaika päättyy: 30.4.2024

Enintään 20 hakijaa valitaan taustan ja motivaation perusteella.

Hyväksytyille osallistujille ilmoitetaan viimeistään 6. toukokuuta 2024

Tämän seminarian järjestävät ja sponsoroivat Fin3R (https://fin3r.fi/en ) ja HiLIFE Comprehensive Model Organisms Platform (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/infrastructures/comprehensive-model-organisms)

Konferenssi

ScandLAS (Scandinavian Society for Laboratory Animal Science) järjestää vuosittaisen konferenssin 2024 Tampereella, Suomessa! Kokous pidetään 21. toukokuuta - 24. toukokuuta. Kokouksen teemana on "Tiede & Hoito". Seuraa heidän verkkosivujaan lisätietojen saamiseksi.

Seminaari

TOKESin kivunlievitysseminaariin - 6.6.2024.

On ilo kutsua sinut TOKESin kivunlievitysseminaariin Helsinkiin 6. kesäkuuta 2024. Seminaari pidetään paikan päällä, ja ilmoittautuminen päättyy sunnuntaina 2. kesäkuuta 2024. Lisätietoa löydät alla olevasta linkistä, ja suosittelemme hyödyntämään näitä viimeisiä tunteja ilmoittautumiseen.

Rekisteröidy täällä: TOKES-seminaari, merkintämenetelmät6.6.2024 klo 10.00-15.00Ilmoittautuminen viimeistään 2.6.2024.: Webropolilla luotu kysely (webropolsurveys.com)

2023

Webinaarit

• FIN3R WEBINARI, 14.11.2023. KLO 14 (EET)

In recent years, there has been a strong drive to improve the inclusion of animals of both sex during in vivo research, driven by a need to improve sex representation in fundamental biology and drug development. This has resulted in inclusion mandates by a variety of funding bodies (e.g., NIH and MRC) and journals. This talk will dispel the common misconceptions that are no longer appropriate justification for studying only one sex. We then explore, how to build an appropriate justification to study only one sex at a case-by-case level. Finally, I will touch upon the impact of including both sexes on data analysis.

Puhuja: Dr. Natasha Karp (AstraZeneca, UK) 

Natasha is a Director of Statistics within AstraZeneca leading a team of statisticians supporting preclinical research.  In addition, Natasha is an active researcher publishing papers with a focus on the challenges within preclinical research with a particular interest in improving replicability, reproducibility, and generalizability of the studies.  More recently, Natasha has published meta-research articles around the process of research.  This has included qualitative research into blinding in in vivo studies, blockers to the engagement with sex inclusive research and the impact of sex inclusive research on statistical power.   

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (University of Helsinki, FIN3R Refinement Director)

Tallenne löytyy täältä.

Ref: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002129

https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.14539

• FIN3R WEBINARI, 11.10.2023. klo 14 (EEST)

Otsikko: The positive welfare impacts of playpens and ball pits in laboratory rats 

Laboratory rodents display a rich behavioural repertoire such as rearing and climbing that is not possible in the current ‘shoebox’ style caging in which they are typically housed in animal facilities. Access to playpens or ball pits in small groups has been identified as a way in which rats can engage with a complex environment while also fulfilling social needs. In this talk I will discuss our recent work showing that just 5 minutes of access to a playpen objectively induces a positive affective state, and can reduce the potential negative welfare impact of common laboratory procedures. 

Puhuja: Dr. Megan Jackson (University of Bristol UK) 

Megan is a teaching associate at the University of Bristol. Her research involves the development of ethologically relevant behavioural tasks to assess rodent motivation, with a specific focus on apathy. She is the co-chair of the early career researcher 3Rs group, and she is a culture of care researcher representative.

Järjestäjä​​​​​​: Vootele Voikar 

Tallenne löytyy täältä: https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/unitube/video/f96eda8c-86a5-4be6-8b69-d064fb0b94b9

• Fin3R webinaari, 22.8.2023. klo 14 (EEST)

Otsikko: “The benefits of systematic review and meta-analysis of animal research” 

Puhuja: Dr. Kim Wever (Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands) 

Järjestäjä: Vootele Voikar (University of Helsinki) 

In this webinar, Dr. Kim Wever will outline how systematic review and meta-analysis can be valuable tools to inform and improve animal research. She will explain the basic principles of these methodologies, highlight their benefits and direct you to tools and resources in the field. 

Tallenne löytyy täältä: https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/unitube/video/3d842024-cfac-4e71-a3e1-100a43c0e12a

About the speaker: Dr. Kimberley (Kim) Wever is a meta-research expert dedicated to maximizing the value of animal studies for human health and works at the Meta-Research team - Radboudumc (https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/research/departments/anesthesiology/meta-research-team).  She is specialized in the use of systematic review and meta-analysis methodology to drive improvements in the design, validity and transparency of animal research, having more than 10 years’ experience in performing (methodological research on) evidence synthesis and validity assessments of animal studies, and in training scientists to do better research. The team has achieved many milestones in this area together with their long-standing colleagues at SYRCLE and CAMARADES (https://www.ed.ac.uk/clinical-brain-sciences/research/camarades). 

• FIN3R ja Finnadvance webinari

Fin3R ja Finnadvance järjestävät 21.8.2023 yhdessä online-seminaarin aiheesta Eläinkokeita korvaavien metodien käytännöt tutkimuksessa ja yhteiskunnassa (engl. “3R workshop: Advances in alternative non-animal methods and policies” ).

Seminaari esittelee uusimpia eläinkokeita korvaavia metodeja sekä tämän hetkisiä käytäntöjä liittyen niiden käyttöön ja lisäämiseen tulevaisuudessa. 

Tallenne löytyy täältä: Webinar: Advances in Alternative Non-Animal Methods and Policies :: FIN3R

• Second FIN3R webinar -  Animal distress during handling and procedures 

9.5.2023, klo 14 

Title: What the mouse face tells you - recognising distress during handling and procedures 

Speakers: Elin Törnqvist (Karolinska Institutet and National Veterinary Institute in Sweden) and Julia Swan (University of Oulu), hosted by Vootele Voikar (University of Helsinki)  

Tallenne löytyy täältä: https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/unitube/video/1a1d3b3d-f4ef-45f6-9794-f197c2d29854

Abstract:  

The refinement aspect of 3Rs aims to alleviate or minimize potential pain, suffering, and distress, as well as enhance animal well-being. Understanding mouse behaviour and signs of distress is pertinent to evaluate efforts aiming at refinement. 

In 2010, the mouse grimace scale was developed to assess pain in laboratory mice [1]. This method allows for the identification of the degree of pain experienced by mice, shown in their facial expressions. Is it possible for signs of distress to also be found in their facial expressions? 

We conducted a study to explore this question and will present our findings in this webinar. In addition, we will provide some practical tips on how to assess distress using facial expressions as well as how to train and handle your mice. 

Reference Article: Swan J, Boyer S, Westlund K, Bengtsson C, Nordahl G, Törnqvist E. Decreased levels of discomfort in repeatedly handled mice during experimental procedures, assessed by facial expressions. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2023 Feb 2;17:15. DOI
10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1109886 

[1] Langford, D. J., Bailey, A. L., Chanda, M. L., Clarke, S. E., Drummond, T. E., Echols, S., et al. (2010). Coding of facial expressions of pain in the laboratory mouse. Nat. Methods 7, 447–449 

• As a next step in connecting the animal welfare bodies in Finland, you are invited to Fin3R webinar – National Networks of Animal Welfare Bodies.  

31.3.2023, klo 14 

Stronger together – The role of the Portuguese Network of Animal Welfare Bodies in raising and harmonising standards across the country 

Speaker: Nuno Franco (University of Porto), hosted by Vootele Voikar (University of Helsinki)

Tallenne löytyy täältä: https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/unitube/video/a97397a2-8a60-44b5-abcd-9596850e1d70

Abstract: While 2010/63/EU Directive demanded of scientific institutions to establish an Animal Welfare Body, there was no tradition in Portugal of having such bodies with such competences and attributions. This raised a challenge for newly-created AWB (ORBEAs, in Portugal) regarding how to define their mission, find their place, and establish authority in institutions, as well as in regard to liaising with the competent authority and national committee. 

Faced with little to no guidance from the authorities, veterinarians, technicians, and laboratory animal scientists from across the country gathered in 2015 to discuss the most pressing matters in order to kick off AWB in their establishments, and the idea of working together as a network was born. The RedeORBEA was hence constituted, with a model of organization that is informal and decentralized, with no membership nor fees, and two co-opted coordinators. It holds regular surveys and censuses, disseminates information, and organizes courses and workshops, as well as annual symposia (with the 8th edition now being prepared), with support by SPCAL. 

The most important contribution of RedeORBEA is providing a forum within which AWB members can ask questions and exchange experiences with peers facing the same problems, and be a unified voice when interacting with authorities. 

Altogether, RedeORBEA has allowed raising and harmonising standards of competence and functionality in the planning, following, and evaluating procedures within institutions, benefitting both animals and the humans caring for them, thus promoting a culture of care. 

Fincopa ja Ecopa tapahtuma - 6.10.2023.

Lokakuun 6. päivänä Fincopa (the Finnish National Consensus Platform for Alternatives) viettää 20-vuotisjuhlaansa! Tätä tilaisuutta varten Fincopa järjestää yhdessä Ecopan kanssa työpajan - Eläinkokeiden korvaaminen tieteessä ja viranomaisvaatimusten mukaisessa testauksessa. Tapahtuma järjestetään hybridinä, Teamsissa ja Helsingissä. Lisätietoja organisaatiosta löydät heidän verkkosivuiltaan, ja lisätietoja tapahtumasta täältä.

2022

Webinaarit

Virtuaalinen luentokoulutus tuottajille, eläinten hoitajille, eläinlääkäreille, opiskelijoille

Sikojen käsittely

27.1.2023 klo 11-16

Ilmainen, ilmoittaudu 10.1.2023 mennessä 

FIN3R and OULAC joint webinar series 1 - 10/11/2022:

Animal-centric care and management – the importance of handling and training
Dr. Dorte Bratbo Sørensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

FIN3R and OULAC joint webinar series 2 - 17/11/2022:

Applied operant animal training in the lab – challenges and benefits
Dr. Dorte Bratbo Sørensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

FIN3R and OULAC joint webinar series 3 - 29/11/2022:

The influence of age on experimental outcomes and animal care
Dr. Paul Potter, Oxford Brookes University, UK

Kongressit ja symposiumit

Englanninkielinen Kolme R symposiumi 7.-8. joulukuuta, 2022: Improving the quality and translatability of biomedical research through 3R principles 

The objective of this symposium is to give an overview and examples of the current state-of-the-art in fundamental biological and pharmacological research and drug development, with a focus on scientific excellence, research quality, communication and Three Rs in relation to using laboratory animals. The symposium is organized by the University of Helsinki Doctoral Programme in Drug Research and the Finnish 3R Center. 

Join us to learn and discuss about recent developments in the field of Three Rs, good research practice and communication in animal research!

Also - workshop on power analysis and session on disease modelling!

Find out more and register at the link below:

ttps://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/120546/lomake.html

 

2023

Webinaarit

• Swedish 3R Center, Swiss 3R Competence Center, Danish 3R Center, National Center for Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (UK), and Charité 3R are hosting a series of webinars in June 2023. More information about the registration, materials, times and organizators is available here. 

Konferenssit

• A Transdisciplinary Conference on Alternative technologies and models (NAMs) to Reduce the use of laboratory animals in Industry, June 6-7th 2023 . Click here for registration and more information.
• The 2023 Animal Research Tomorrow (ART) Award Ceremony and Conference, June 8th 2023. Click here for registration and more information. 
• Centro 3R is hosting a IV Annual Meeting in Milano, on September 13-15th, 2023. The topic of the meeting is "The role of 3Rs in the age of One Health: where we are and where we’re going", and more information about regisration, attendance and abstract submission (by July 1st, 2023) is available here.
• Swiss 3R Competence Center is hosting an annual confereces, Swiss 3R Day, with the focus on research advances, innovations, and issues in the field. The conference takes place in Lugano, on September 19th, 2023. More information and registration link is available here. Poster submission is open until August 19th, 2023. More information about submission could be found here. 

Kongressit

• 12th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences (WC12), August 27-31st 2023. More information and registration is available here.

2022

EU-komissio

Education and Training Platform for Laboratory Animal Science, www.etplas.eu, https://etplas.eu/learn/
EU-10: Design of procedures and projects – level 1, https://etplas.eu/learn/eu-10-experimental-design/
EU-11: Design of procedures and projects – level 2, https://etplas.eu/learn/eu-11-1-design-of-procedures-and-projects/
EU-12: The severity assessment framework, https://etplas.eu/learn/eu-12-the-severity-assessment-framwork/
Eu-25: Project evaluation, https://etplas.eu/learn/eu-25-2-project-evaluation/
EU-52: Searching for (existing) non-animal alternatives, www.etplas.eu/learn/eu-52/
EU-60: Developing in vitro methods and approaches for scientific and regulatory use, www.etplas.eu/learn/eu-60/

Webinaarit ja seminaarit

• CPD LAS Webinars /Karolinska Institutet: “Proactive actions from industry to drive forward animal welfare, the 3Rs and science” will be presented by Dr. Kirsty Reid, Director Science Policy, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), Brussels, Belgium.

  Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2022 × Stockholm 1 PM CEST

  ABSTRACT

  The pharmaceutical industry is committed to the science-based phase-in of methods to replace the use of animals for scientific purposes and the deletion of animal tests which are obsolete or redundant. EFPIA members aim to lead progress on this by engaging in a wide range of practical activities to help drive the development, uptake and promotion of non-animal technologies (NATs) and new approach methodologies (NAMs) so that these can be phased-in as soon as it is scientifically possible to do so. There are a large number of initiatives underway within the pharma sector going beyond the legislative requirements for 3Rs. There are also a number of opportunities to join forces and drive this work forward on dialogue and collaborations. Dr Kirsty Reid will highlight some of these during the webinar session.

  SPEAKER

  Dr. Kirsty Reid is team leader and Science Policy topic lead at EFPIA, where her focus includes innovation policy implementation with particular focus on science and research matters. She has over 16 years experience in EU public and regulatory affairs covering various EU legislation and policy areas, working specifically on animal experimentation; alternatives to animal testing, and environment, health and safety issues.

• The Impact of the Animals’ Lived Experience”  will be presented by Jennifer L Lofgren, Global Head of Animal Welfare and Compliance, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, U.S.

  Date: Thursday, 3 November 2022 × Stockholm 2 PM CET

  ABSTRACT

  While details such as how much nesting material we place in a cage, how we pick up a mouse during cage change, or which analgesic we administer may be fleeting and minor to in-vivo staff, these decisions can result in significant and impactful changes in the lived experience of our laboratory rodents.  These impacts are not only to the animals’ welfare but also to the research results they produce.  While these refinements were once considered nice to have, but far from necessary, published studies have now established that reducing stress associated with suboptimal housing, handling, and post-procedural pain management are important steps to improving laboratory rodent quality of life and the quality and success of the biomedical research to which they contribute. In this lecture we will explore this literature and learn about the relative impact on a variety of research models of both providing and withholding appropriate enrichment, reducing handling stress, and effective analgesics. 

  SPEAKER

  Jennie Lofgren, DVM, MS, DACLAM, is Global Head of Animal Welfare and Compliance at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. At Novartis, Dr. Lofgren has worked with the global Animal Welfare Compliance team to increase education and transparency about the need for and value of animals in research and increased 3Rs opportunities for internal and external animal studies.

• Webinar on Safer and Sustainable Innovation Approach for More Sustainable Nanomaterials and Nano-enabled Products will be held on Thursday 3 November 2022 at 14:30-16:30 CET / 09:30-11:30 EDT.
  The Safer and Sustainable Innovation Approach (SSIA) is an approach aiming to boost safer and sustainable innovations by integrating safety and sustainability at an early stage of the design phase of innovative materials, products, applications, and processes. SSIA combines the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD), Regulatory Preparedness (RP), and Trusted Environment (TE) concepts to identify and minimise sustainability impacts along with potential health and environmental risks in the innovation process. SSIA relies on early dialogue between industry and regulators and is facilitated by a Trusted Environment. SSIA aims to anticipate the regulatory challenges posed by innovative nanomaterials, nano-enabled products, or other advanced materials by minimising the gap between technological innovations and the development of suitable risk assessment tools and frameworks.

• The second focus event of the Austrian 3R Center "Severe Suffering in Animal Experiments and How to Refine" will be held on the 7^th of November 2022.

  Annually, the Austrian 3R Center coordinates its focus topics with the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and this time the focus is on severe suffering in animal experiments.

• Webinar “Do ‘euthanasia’ methods for laboratory rodents really give them a ‘good death’?”  will be presented by Dr Huw Golledge BSc PhD, Chief Executive & Scientific Director, Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, Hertfordshire, U.K.

  Date: Friday, 25 November 2022 × Stockholm 1 PM CET

  ABSTRACT

  Euthanasia means a ‘good death’. Most laboratory rodents are killed with Carbon Dioxide (CO2), a procedure which is often referred to as euthanasia. In this talk I will summarise the extensive evidence that CO2 negatively impacts animal welfare when used to end the life of rats or mice. This evidence shows that CO2, even in low concentrations causes fear or anxiety which cannot be avoided if it used to kill rodents. Therefore, CO2 cannot be considered a method which offers a ‘good death’ for these species, and, moreover, that it should be considered a harm and factored into harm-benefit analyses when it is used to kill experimental subjects. I will then compare current and potential practical alternative methods to consider whether any of these offer the potential of a good death.

  SPEAKER

  Huw Golledge is Chief Executive and Scientific Director of the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) - an international charity dedicated to the promotion of Science in the Service of Animal Welfare. Prior to joining UFAW he was an animal welfare researcher at Newcastle University in the UK and was a member of the UK’s national Animals in Science Committee from 2013-2016.

Kongressit​​​​​​

• Uniting in Toxicology: 18–22 September 2022 in Maastricht, The Netherlands. 
• AALAS National Meeting, October 23–27, 2022, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. 
• 21st International Congress of the European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV), 21–25 November 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.