Developing & Communicating best practice in in vivo research

The Physiological Society invites in vivo researchers to hear talks, engage in discussion and exchange ideas on best practice in their work with animals. The event will include talks from scientists at the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the University of Bristol, alongside representatives from funding bodies including the NC3Rs and MRC. NC3Rs Programme Managers Dr Chris Barkus and Dr Esther Pearl will be delivering talks in both of the day’s sessions.

Learning outcomes:

• Understanding best practice in rodent animal research.
• Understanding how to improve existing animal models you use within your research.
• Understanding the impact of sex on the quality of research outputs and developing successful funding applications.

In ‘Session 1: How do we as in vivo researchers improve existing animal models?’ Chris will cover our work on refining rodent high-yield behavioural experiments and associated recommendations for experiments involving head fixation and food and water control.

During ‘Session 2: What will be the impact of sex on the quality of research outputs and developing successful funding applications?’ Esther will discuss available resources and guidance to assist with accounting for sex in experimental design and reflect on the first NC3Rs funding round where using both sexes was the default.