7th IC-3Rs Symposium 2024

The 7th Symposium of the Innovation Centre for 3R alternative methods (IC-3Rs) entitled: "Reduction and Refinement challenges in 3Rs research" will take place on the 19th of September at the Health Campus VUB in Jette.

In several  of the previous  Annual IC-3R Symposia, attention was going to the development and application of one of the 3Rs, namely Replacement. This year, focus will be on the other two Rs, Reduction and Refinement. We would like to raise awareness with respect to three topics for which information is rather limited and some remediation seems possible.

Indeed, on a daily basis, researchers face various challenges in animal experimentation:

• Not all animals, bred for research, are used in their experiments. What should be done with these surplus animals? Can the huge number of overproduction, seen in all Member States, be reduced? Or is this just an illusion?
• Pain scoring in rodents is well-documented and standardization efforts are ongoing, but how can we effectively implement it for non-rodents, such as poultry? Any ideas?
• When animal experiments are needed, these are often only carried out with male animals. Should we include both male and female animals in our research? And how might this affect our experimental design statistically?

To tackle these pressing issues, we have invited national and international speakers. Following their presentations, a few case studies will be used to  open the discussion among representatives from the Ethical Committees on Experimental Animals of a number of Belgian universities and the audience.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to actively engage in these discussions and contribute in addressing these important concerns. We look forward to seeing you all on the 19th of September!