̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Martin Vinnell

Top UK organisations release annual statistics for use of animals in research

cjb250 — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 09:03:50 +0000

These statistics are freely available on the institutions’ websites as part of their ongoing commitment to transparency and openness. ̽��ֱ��figures show that the ten institutions collectively conducted nearly a half of all UK animal research in 2018.

These ten organisations carried out 1.69 million procedures, 48% of the 3.52 million procedures carried out in Great Britain in 2018. More than 99% of these procedures were carried out on rodents or fish.

̽��ֱ��ten organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures that they carried out in 2018.

Organisation	Number of Procedures
Medical Research Council	268,032
̽��ֱ��Francis Crick Institute	250,940
̽��ֱ�� of Oxford	219,551
̽��ֱ�� of Edinburgh	194,174
UCL ( ̽��ֱ�� College London)	182,438
̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge	141,968
̽��ֱ�� of Glasgow	128,982
King's College London	121,163
̽��ֱ�� of Manchester	94,913
Imperial College London	85,772
TOTAL	1,687,933

A further breakdown of Cambridge’s numbers, including the number of procedures by species and detail of the levels of severity, can be found on its animal research pages.

All ten organisations are signatories to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, a commitment to be open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. Over 120 organisations have signed the concordat including UK universities, charities, research funders, and commercial research organisations. Earlier this year, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge was named a Leader in Openness in recognition of its work.

Dr Martin Vinnell, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Establishment Licence Holder, who is responsible for overseeing its animal research, said: “While the use of animals plays an important role in biomedical research, we should always be looking at ways to refine this work, find replacements and ultimately reduce the number of animals used.

“Nor should we see this kind of research as a right – it’s essential that we are open about our work and ensure the public is well informed of both what we do, and why we do it, whether or not they support this type of research. This is why it is important that institutions such as Cambridge and its peers release information about their animal research.”

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which helped develop the Concordat on Openness, said: “Since the publication of the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK in 2014, organisations that carry out research using animals have been increasingly transparent. These organisations are providing an unprecedented level of information about how and why they conduct medical, veterinary and scientific research using animals. Facts, figures, case studies, and photos about the use of animals in research are now provided directly by the organisations that carry out the research, so that it has never been easier for members of the public to find out why those animals were used in research.”

̽��ֱ��ten academic organisations in the UK that carry out the highest number of animal procedures – those used in medical, veterinary and fundamental scientific research – have today released their statistics to coincide with the publication of the UK’s official statistics by the Home Office.

Animal research at Cambridge: Blood pressure drug shows promise for treating Parkinson’s and dementia in animal studies

Earlier this year, Cambridge researchers revealed how a prescription drug to treat high blood pressure has shown promise against conditions such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and forms of dementia in studies carried out in mice and zebra fish.

A common feature of neurodegenerative diseases is the build-up of misfolded proteins. In healthy individuals, the body uses a mechanism known as autophagy, or ‘self-eating’, to prevent the build-up of such toxic materials. There are currently no drugs that can induce autophagy effectively in patients.

In addition to searching for new drugs, scientists often look to re-purpose existing drugs. These have the advantage that they have already been shown to be safe for use in humans. If they can be shown to be effective against the target diseases, then the journey to clinical use is much faster.

Scientists at Cambridge have shown in mice that felodipine, a hypertension drug, may be a candidate for re-purposing. ̽��ֱ��team used mice that had been genetically modified to express mutations that cause Huntington’s disease or a form of Parkinson’s disease, and zebra fish that model a form of dementia.

Felodipine was effective at reducing the build-up of aggregates in the mice with the Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease mutations and in the zebra fish dementia model. ̽��ֱ��treated animals also showed fewer signs of the diseases.

Studies in mice often use doses that are much higher than those known to be safe to use in humans. Professor Rubinsztein and colleagues demonstrated in the Parkinson’s mice that it is possible to show beneficial effects even at concentrations similar to those known to be safe in humans. They did so by controlling the concentration of drug by inserting a small slow release device under the mouse’s skin.

Further details

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Cambridge recognised as Leader in Openness around animal research

cjb250 — Thu, 23 May 2019 08:10:02 +0000

In 2014, the ̽��ֱ�� signed the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research, committing to making available detailed information about its animal research through its website, communications and public engagement activities.

Since then, it has received two Openness Awards for its films looking at how mice are helping in the fight against cancer and how animals, including marmosets, help us understand brain disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder. These films complement its animal research pages, which include details on the different types of animal used in research at Cambridge and the number of procedures carried out each year.

One of the ̽��ֱ��’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body Committees takes part each year in the Cambridge Science Festival. This year, it ran a stand at the family weekend at the city’s Guildhall, providing the opportunity for members of the public to discuss the use of animals in research and animal welfare and showcasing 25 years of the ‘3Rs’ of animal research - Replacement, Reduction, Refinement.

Other activities include the ‘Challenge’ technical programme for students from the age of 13 at the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology. There, the ̽��ֱ�� and the Academy arrange for employers, research organisations and local universities to showcase and discuss their work, providing open engagement and information to students.

Cambridge is one of 13 Leaders recognised out of 121 signatories to the Concordat.

Commenting on the award, Professor Chris Abell, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “I am proud that Cambridge has been recognised as a Leader in Openness. I believe our institution has a moral obligation to be open about the important research that takes place in its laboratories.

“Our ̽��ֱ�� has been at the forefront of important discoveries in biology and in human and veterinary medicine, and much of this work would not have been possible without the use of animals. However, we are not complacent in our use of animals in research and continuously apply the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement in all of this work.”

Dr Martin Vinnell, the ̽��ֱ��’s Establishment Licence Holder, who is responsible for overseeing its animal research, added: “This award recognises the willingness of all those involved in research here using animals to engage with the public. Our researchers have openly talked about their work using animals to the media and at the Cambridge Science Festival, while the commitment to openness and transparency means that we aim to proactively put as much information as possible on our webpages rather than only responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

“ ̽��ֱ��use of animals in research should not be viewed as a right – and we must therefore ensure the public is well informed of both what we do, and why we do it, whether or not they support this type of research.”

In 2017, researchers at Cambridge carried out just under 160,000 procedures, the vast majority involving mice and zebrafish. ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� publishes all of its animal statistics on its website. Last year, the ̽��ֱ�� also began publishing information on the severity of its procedures.

Research involving animals plays an important part in helping researchers understand human biology, and in particular how diseases occur and in the development of new treatments. Without the use of animals, we would not have many of the modern medicines, antibiotics, vaccines and surgical techniques that we take for granted in both human and veterinary medicine.

Some of the important and pioneering work for which Cambridge is best known and which has led to major improvements in people’s lives was only possible using animals, from the development of IVF techniques through to human monoclonal antibodies.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� places good welfare at the centre of all its animal research and aims to meet the highest standards: good animal welfare and good science go hand-in-hand. Although animals will play a role in biomedical research for the foreseeable future, researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� strive to use only the number of animals necessary to obtain sound scientific data. Our researchers are actively looking at techniques to refine their experiments and help reduce – and ultimately replace – their use.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has been presented with a Leader in Openness Award in recognition of its work to promote openness and transparency around its research involving the use of animals.

I am proud that Cambridge has been recognised as a Leader in Openness. I believe our institution has a moral obligation to be open about the important research that takes place in its laboratories

Chris Abell

Fighting cancer: Animal research at Cambridge

Maggie Bartlett, NHGRI

Knockout mice

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution

Ten leading universities release animal research statistics

cjb250 — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 00:01:01 +0000

̽��ֱ��top ten institutions conduct more than two thirds of all UK university animal research between them, completing a combined total of 1.4 million procedures. Over 99% of these procedures were carried out on rodents or fish, and in line with national data they were almost evenly split between experimental work and the breeding of genetically modified animals.

̽��ֱ��ten universities are listed below alongside the total number of procedures that they carried out in 2016. Each institution’s name links to its animal research webpage which includes more detailed statistics. This is the second year in a row universities have come together to collectively publicise their numbers and examples of their research.

̽��ֱ��	Total (2016)
̽��ֱ�� of Oxford	217,765
̽��ֱ�� College London	203,744
̽��ֱ�� of Edinburgh	203,285
̽��ֱ�� of Manchester	174,120
̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge	155,394
King's College London	155,058
Imperial College London	101,369
̽��ֱ�� of Sheffield	83,130
̽��ֱ�� of Birmingham	54,728
̽��ֱ�� of Glasgow	50,566

All universities are committed to the ‘3Rs’ of replacement, reduction and refinement. This means avoiding or replacing the use of animals where possible, minimising the number of animals used per experiment and minimising suffering to improve animal welfare. However, as universities expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study.

All ten universities are signatories to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, a commitment to be more open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. 116 organisations have signed the concordat including UK universities, charities, research funders and commercial research organisations.

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said: “ ̽��ֱ��Concordat has fostered a culture of openness at research institutions up and down the country. Institutions now provide an unprecedented level of information about how and why they conduct medical, veterinary and scientific research using animals. Almost two-thirds of the university Concordat signatories provide their animal numbers openly on their website – accounting for almost 90% of all animal research at UK universities. “

Dr Martin Vinnell, Home Office Establishment Licence Holder at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “All of us involved in biomedical research believe it is vital that we are completely open about our use of animals and that is why we are joining the UK’s other leading research universities in collectively releasing our statistics, in addition to our other efforts in support of transparency as part of the Concordat on the Declaration of Openness.

"Although the use of animals continues to contribute to our understanding of health and disease and in the development of medical treatments, medicines and surgical techniques that we take for granted, there must be no complacency in our shared goal of replacement, reduction and refinement of the use of animals. At the same time, the welfare of animals has to be paramount.”

Animal research has played a key role in the development of virtually every medicine that we take for granted today. However, despite decades of dedicated research, many widespread and debilitating conditions are still untreatable. Medical research is a slow process with no easy answers, but animal research helps to take us incrementally closer to treatments for cancer, dementia, stroke and many other debilitating conditions.

Animal research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

As part of the ongoing commitment to greater openness about animal research, the ten universities which conduct the most animal procedures have publicised their figures today, revealing that they collectively conducted a third of all UK animal research in 2016. All ten universities appear in the QS World ̽��ֱ�� Ranking Top 100.

It is vital that we are completely open about our use of animals and that is why we are joining the UK’s other leading research universities in collectively releasing our statistics

Martin Vinnell

Understanding the OCD Brain part 2: Animal research at Cambridge

Mice

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

Yes