Three institutions have been recognised for their openness in animal research by UK advocacy organisation Understanding Animal Research (UAR).
EARA member the University of Manchester (pictured) won for its series of animal research webpages, as well as the A day in the life of an animal technician video, which was originally created for EARA’s Be Open About Animal Research Day 2022 (BOARD 2022).
The University of Reading and The Francis Crick Institute also won awards. Reading staff actively welcomed a discussion with a group of protestors on the university’s animal research, while the Crick’s use of Instagram Stories was particularly commended.
The Awards celebrate the UK Concordat on Openness on Animal Research – a commitment to be more open about how animals are used in research – and the publication of its annual report.
At the event Professor Cherry Wainwright, of Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, gave a lecture on how research in animals, including mice, rabbits and dogs, has helped to understand and treat cardiovascular disease.
Professor Wainwright said that while non-animal methods, such as cell models, contribute to this fundamental body ofare used in research, ‘whole animals are essential to fully understand the complexity’ of the heart and its diseases.
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