3Rs workshops for upper secondary schools

The Swedish 3Rs Center regularly arranges workshops for professionals about refinement and stress-reduced handling for mice and rats. At one point, a teacher at a local upper secondary school attended such a workshop and afterwards asked if we could make a version of the workshop addressed to students in upper secondary school. In January, we held such a workshop with two teachers and 35 students.

During the workshop, we presented the 3Rs Center and our work. National Committee member and SLU lecturer Katarina Cvek held a lecture on laboratory animals and a historic review on refinement. She gave examples of changed approaches and routines when it comes to handling and enrichment.

Animal staff from RISE Research Institutes of Sweden participated to show their refinement techniques and how to train animals to different interventions. The Swedish Fund for Research Without Animal Experiments told about their funding of projects that aim to replace animal experiments and presented some methods that have already replaced certain animal experiments.

The students had lots of time for questions during the workshop. Before the workshop, the 3Rs Center distributed discussion questions to the teachers, that they could use in the teaching after the workshop to continue the discussions and learnings.

If you are a teacher and wants to have a workshop like this with your students, please contact us at the 3Rs Center.

We meet students at Researchers’ Night

Every year in September, the EU member states come together on a common fiesta – the Researchers’ Night. This event aims to raise awareness of research and researchers’ work. The main activities are addressing children and young students.

In Sweden, this event is called ForskarFredag. The 3Rs Center has participated in this event for a couple of years and likewise this year. For a whole week in the end of September 26-30, we will meet students in virtual classrooms in upper secondary schools to have vibrant talks about research and the 3Rs. Our co-partner is the Swedish association Public & Science (Vetenskap & Allmänhet).

Attending researchers this year will come from Uppsala University, the National Veterinary Institute and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. The subjects will be about different research methods and models, ethics, drug development, risk assessment, chemicals, toxicity and endocrine disruptors. All with a connection to the 3Rs.

If you are a teacher and have an interest to attend with your students, please contact the 3Rs Center.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed open access teaching resources to support 3Rs education at primary and secondary school. Based on the results of a study, which showed that there was almost no 3Rs education provided to school-goers, the JRC has been working towards remedying the shortfall.

Educating future scientists

The aim of the project is to explain and promote the 3Rs and specifically Replacement approaches, as an important STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) topic and an inspiration to young people in their career choices. Through these learning scenarios, teachers can also alert their students to the value of good animal welfare and advance their critical thinking skills through discussion and debate of the very many facets of animal use in science.

Collaboration with teachers

Co-creating and rolling out materials together with teachers is the key to success. The project is fortunate to work with European Schoolnet, a dynamic network of 33 education ministries harnessing the experience and expertise of teachers to bring topics into schools in an innovative way. There are already six 3Rs learning scenarios available for teachers to use, and more are on the way. Several teaching resources have been created to support delivery of the lessons including a virtual lab where students can learn about a specific alternative technique using cells.

The approach has been to prepare quality teaching materials, testing them in the classroom, and then training other teachers to use them, through a teacher-training MOOC (massive open online course). The second half of the project has been all about outreach – towards teachers, students and to education decision makers to integrate the 3Rs further and more permanently into the syllabus. One way is through featuring related STEM careers.

Through this Europe-wide collaboration, the JRC are now able to offer and widely distribute harmonised and quality training resources. Teaching tools should be of good quality and freely available to ensure uptake and impact. Many of the learning scenarios will soon be available in seven additional languages, and resources will cover an age range of 6 years to 19 years.

Six learning scenarios – ready to use

• How society uses and misuses Animals? Animal welfare – Animals in society
• To use or not to use live animals in science: Animal welfare – Animals in science
• Sustainable science: The 3Rs: Sustainable science – the 3Rs
• Human-Based Science: Where humans can do it on their own: Sustainable science – Human-based science
• Critical thinking - Debate on acknowledging emotions and facts
• Animal experimentation in scientific literacy: Critical thinking – Science literacy

Six learning scenarios (scientix.eu)

The 3Rs and Animal Use in Science project (scientix.eu)

If you want to know more, you can contact Marcelle Holloway at the JRC: marcelle.holloway at ec.europa.eu

Refinement education on stress-reduced handling

Staff at the RISE Research Institutes of Sweden have contributed significantly to the development of stress-reduced handling of laboratory animals, especially for mice and rats. In addition to show how to avoid tail handling, they have developed training schemes. These training schemes allow researchers and animal technicians to handle and perform necessary procedures on the animals, such as give injections and withdraw blood, without ever having to use force or restraint. In fact, the animals seem to enjoy the interactions with the handlers.

With the goal of inspiring more people to use such techniques, the Swedish National Committee initiated a work with RISE to educate researchers and animal technicians on refinement techniques for mice and rats.

Workshops in Swedish and English

For two years now, the Swedish 3Rs Center and RISE have offered highly appreciated workshops for professionals within animal research. First, we intended to have physical workshops on site all over Sweden, but because of the pandemic, we had to re-plan during 2020. The challenge was solved by putting together a virtual workshop, which now has been performed about ten times.

During 2022, we offer the same workshop in English, which means that we can reach more researchers than we do with workshops in Swedish. The first English workshops have had a great interest with hundreds of participants from different parts of the world. Two more workshops will be held during the autumn.

Emelie Jansson is the project leader of the workshops:

"These workshops give the attendees a unique insight into new ways of handling research animals, as well as an opportunity to consult experts on what they can do to refine animal handling at their own workplace. We hear people getting excited to work more towards the welfare of their research animals. This puts a smile on my face and gives me a clear indication that the Swedish 3Rs Center is doing an important job."

The importance of education and training

She has performed research in learning and memory and today she works with educations in laboratory animal science on a national level. Meet Madeleine Le Grevès, senior lecturer at Uppsala University, chairperson of the Nordic consortium of Laboratory Animal Sciences educations and regular member of the Swedish National Committee.

Madeleine is senior lecturer at the Department of Medical Cell Biology at Uppsala University. For years, she studied learning and memory mechanisms associated with growth hormone and the normal aging of the brain. She used rat models to study the spatial memory. Her studies have had impact on the research of hippocampus and the human brain.

National harmonization of LAS education

During a postdoc at the Medical Faculty, she became increasingly interested in education and she soon became course leader in laboratory animal science (LAS) at the university.

"When we implemented the EU Directive 2010/63/EU in Sweden, we had to adjust our LAS educations to the new rules, says Madeleine. The biggest change was that everybody had to have an approved education before handling the laboratory animals. Many of us then pointed out the need for harmonisation and coordination."

That is when and why a Nordic consortium was initiated. The universities and the industry got together and formed NCLASET to offer on-demand theoretical LAS courses in combination with practical parts on site, adapted to animal species and the specific facility. Madeleine is currently the chairperson of NCLASET.

"Right now, there is an ongoing development of a course focused on rabbits. We will also refine the fish course into separate courses of different species and wild fish. Another improvement are separate courses on farm animals and wild animals. Our ambition is to update all courses every third year."

NCLASET (nclaset.org)

To harmonize the practical education

Since everyone must have an approved education before handling any animals, it is important to have the courses available on a regular basis. Uppsala University offers the practical part for various species on demand, sometimes in collaboration with other organisations. The practical part still differs within the country. To set a national standard is another goal for NCLASET, according to Madeleine:

"We must keep working on the culture of care concept. As long as we depend on the use of animals in research, we must support and maintain a culture of care at every work place."

Madeleine is also involved in the EU platform for harmonization of training and education: ETPLAS. She leads a working group aiming to develop an assessment questiong database for examination on rodents and zebra fish.

You can learn more about ETPLAS in another article, where the Swedish representative Brun Ulfhake describes the work.

Information for the public

Madeleine is also member of a steering group responsible for a website hosted by the Swedish Research Council and eight universities that use animals in research. The website called djurförsök.info (animal experiments) presents objective information on animal experiments to a public audience and to schools. The website was recently launched in a new design with new information.

djurförsök.info

To get guidelines in use

The Swedish National Committee has ten regular members and Madeleine is one of them. She is positive about the Committee’s work, especially since they introduced portfolio management. This means that all operational work is organized in three portfolios with one responsible Committee member for each portfolio. Madeleine is member of the portfolio Animal welfare in focus.

The National Committee publishes recommendations and guidelines on requested areas, like group housing and tagging of animals. According to Madeleine, one of the most important tasks for the Committee is to promote and get these recommendations in use:

"As soon as we have come up with new guidelines or other support – it must immediately come to use! Moreover, we must keep up the good work to communicate with Swedish researchers. They have a great interest, but we need to take it further. To be credible with researchers in general we must work on every R in the 3Rs, not only Replacement."

Researchers all over the world use his cell lines

He is responsible for education and training in laboratory animal sciences at Umeå University. He is also Head of Department at Umeå Centre for Comparative Biology. Meet Leif Carlsson, member of the Swedish National Committee for the Protection of Animals used for Scientific Purposes.

Leif began his educational path as a student at the Dental program in the 80s. After a year, he decided to move on to research and the molecular biology field. As a PhD student in molecular immunology, he analysed DNA sequences of antibody genes. 

Ever since, he has had a special interest in antibody production and use. For example, he is the Swedish National Committee’s appointed expert in an EU-initiated group that investigates the possibilities and limitations with non-animal derived antibodies.

Pioneer cell lines for studying organ development

In 1995, Leif started his first research group in Umeå, which studied embryonic stem cells and the blood system in mice. They began to produce cell lines that were similar to blood stem cells.

"Today, researchers all over the world use these cell lines, says Leif. They use them as a model system for an unlimited supply of hematopoietic (blood) stem cells since these cells are very rare in mice and humans. I have also studied organ development, hair follicle development and liver development, for example. My research of today is mostly about identifying genes involved in the development of the eye."

When the Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes was implemented in Sweden, the requirements for those who handle and use laboratory animals became stricter. Everyone must undergo training and be approved in advance, both theoretically and practically. The new rules got the university to reorganize their LAS education and transform it into a web-based education. The practical education is still set on site.

"Today we have about 60 research groups connected to the animal facility, says Leif. The supervisor reports to me when they have group members that need to take the course and I run the administration of all courses. All admissions to our courses are based on need, not an individual interest."

What about continuous training?

"We encourage all staff to take courses or other training opportunities that seems relevant for our needs at the university, Leif says. We have a transgene facility where we educate staff on the special techniques used, for example in vitro fertilization (IVF), embryo-transfer and intranuclear injections of transgenes. We also try to train on new techniques that could be beneficial for our facility, so that several technicians can perform them."

They try to participate at annual meetings with the Swedish Research Council and other international meetings and conferences that are relevant. The activities and events arranged by the 3Rs Center are also a source of education and training.

To keep focus on all 3Rs

Leif has been a member of the Swedish National Committee since its formation. He can see how the Committee has changed, with a better and more balanced representation from the universities.

"We must keep focus on all 3 Rs in the Committee. I often find this area split into two separate groups running in different directions. I see myself as a bridge, since I have a long experience in research with animal models and I see the value of animal models. I am also determined to keep focus on quality and good research. Using less animal in an experiment could risk the results and then we have used the animals in vain. That is bad research."

Leif is eager to promote Refinement. If we continuously work with refining the experiments, we can reduce the number of used animals.

"Another issue we need to raise within the National Committee is the reproducibility crisis, he says. I think that this problem, to some extent, depends on the external pressure on researchers to reduce the number of animals in their experiments."

Tissue sharing

He also highlights tissue and organ sharing as a field for the Committee to put forward. Tissue sharing is something he has tried to promote his entire career and he is positive about the ongoing work when it comes to tissue banks and other sharing possibilities nationally and internationally.

"To use every single animal in the most effective way is a sustainable way to reduce the number of animals in research. Simultaneously we can reduce the use, share our results and let our studies and data find new paths. Again, we must always focus on quality and good research."

ETPLAS – the EU platform for education and training

To push for a harmonization of education and training within the EU, there is a special platform for the area - Education & Training Platform for Laboratory Animal Science, ETPLAS.

ETPLAS is a kind of contact point for the member states in these matters, for everyone who works with laboratory animals. ETPLAS will help by offering standards and tools for the member states’ education and training, for assessment and accreditation. The platform is also a meeting place for everyone involved to share knowledge with each other.

We asked the Swedish representative Brun Ulfhake in the Board of ETPLAS to tell about the ongoing work.

Resource hub

Over the past year, the ETPLAS website has developed into a resource hub for laboratory animal science education and training. Through funding by the EU parliament, six eLearning modules are now available for free and serve as learning outcome landmarks for course providers across EU.

The modules cover design of procedures and projects, severity assessment, project evaluation and non-animal models and in vitro testing, respectively. Funding to ETPLAS also enabled the development of a guide to learning outcome assessments for training modules for researchers and personnel who perform procedures (Function A), accompanied by a library of assessment questions on species: small rodents and zebrafish and a library of assessment templates for practical skills.

Importantly, these free-to-use resources provide standards for recognized and harmonised laboratory animal science education and training in the EU.

New work groups and additional instruments

Through a new funding initiative (Preparatory Action Grant, EU, 2022-2024) ETPLAS is currently forming six work groups that will develop additional instruments and tools to assist in laboratory animal science education and training. This action will cover:

• Expanding the assessment criteria for function B (design procedures and projects) and function C (take care of animals). Along with this expanding the current assessment question database so it will cover function A (training modules for researchers and personnel who perform procedures), B and C. Likewise, the library of directly observed practical skills will be extended to cover the eLearning modules. More such modules will be created under this grant.
• A formal training assessment tool to be made available on the ETPLAS web platform.
• A Union-wide continuing professional development framework for LAS to harmonise maintenance of competence as required by the Directive (2010/63/EU).

Albeit the work groups are still being setup, it is clear that Sweden will be represented in more than one of the work groups.

You can also read about the working group that the National Committee member Madeleine Le Grevès leads, in the interview with her in this focus letter.

E-modules from ETPLAS (etplas.eu)

Education for regional ethics committees on animal experiments

In Sweden, research with animals may not be conducted if not preceded by evaluation and approval from a regional ethics committee on animal experiments. This ethical evaluation must ensure that the aims of the experiment justify the use of animals, that the experiment is of urgent interest to the general public and justified, e.g. for scientific reasons to benefit humans, animals or the environment.

The Swedish Board of Agriculture is the government agency responsible for the regional ethics committees on animal experiments. The National Committee is assigned to support the regional committees by giving them advice on issues related to animals used for scientific purposes. Examples of such support are webinars or lectures on the 3Rs, which can be given to one or several ethics committees, produced on demand.

Education resources

The Swedish Board of Agriculture has produced an e-learning tool for members of all regional ethics committees. The education is based on different modules, which contain material about the ethics committee's assignment, the 3Rs, what should be in an application, ethics, ethology and legislation.

The 3Rs Center has assisted by producing modules on harm and benefit analysis, severity assessment, ethics and pain.

The education primarily address new members of the committees, as an introduction to their work. It is digital and accessible to all members and will be adjusted and supplemented with new material in the future according to the committees' needs.

The education is to be launched later in 2022.