Great attendance at Edinburgh University's inaugural laboratory animal welfare symposium

It is good to report that 120 of the University's research scientists registered to attend the laboratory animal welfare symposium last week. The event organised by the University's animal welfare committee in partnership with the JMICAWE, aimed to bring together those involved in animal research to consider laboratory animal welfare advances and the use of alternatives. The audience heard from excellent internal and externally based speakers about the importance of good experimental design, tissue engineering as superior replacements for in vivo experiments, imaging as a means to reduce and replace the use of animals and pain assessment and management. A good number of researchers and technicians competed for the JMICAWE animal alternatives awards and we were delighted to recognise the work of three of the University's staff members for their significant contribution to the development of advances that have the potential to reduce and replace animal use and improve animal welfare. In particular the judging panel were keen to reward the work of a group of researchers who had developed an in vitro model of central nervous system remyelination to enable them to replace animal use whilst investigating effective therapies to treat Multiple Sclerosis. Feedback for the event was extremely positive and it has been decided that this will be an annual event.