International course on Laboratory Animal Science
Objective
The objective of the 80 hours course is to present basic facts and principles that are essential for the humane use and care of laboratory animals and for the quality of research.
The course may also be of interest for those who intend to set up a similar course at their own location. For this purpose, during the course acquisition of teaching materials can be discusses with the course committee.
Workload
The number of credits that can be obtained after successful completion of the course is 3 ECTS ( European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). The lenght of the course is two weeks.
Certificate
If the participant has met all legal requirements and has successfully passed the exam at the end of the course, he/she will receive a certificate.
Legal requirements (according to Section 2 of the Dutch Experiments on Animals Decree)
Beside successful completion of the Course on Laboratory Animal Science, the applicant needs to have required:
- a MSc degree in a biological or zootechnical discipline
- knowledge of the basic subjects of biology up to 18.75 ECTS (=500 study hours) including at least 7.5 ECTS on anatomy/zoology and 7.5 ECTS on physiology.
Please send in together with your registration form:
- a copy of your master diploma
- a complete list of all relevant courses (including BSc studies) that you followed, and the number of hours that they took (if your academic training was not one of the aforementioned disciplines).
If you have not (yet) obtained a Master degree, you will receive a written confirmation stating that you followed the course and successfully passed the exam. With this confirmation you can after obtaining your master degree, put in a request to send you the final certificate confirming that you meet all legal requirements of Dutch law to be registered as an art.9 researcher.
Language
English
Registration
The maximum number of participants is 24. Registration will be accepted after receipt of:
Courses WITH accommodation
Once a year in July we organise a course with hotel accommodation, only for participants not living or working in the Netherlands. A hotel reservation is made for 12 nights, lunches and dinners are included during course days.
Course dates
Courses WITHOUT accommodation
- Jan 11 -22, 2010
- Apr 12 - 23, 2010
- Jul 05 - 16, 2010
- Nov 15 - 26, 2010
Courses WITh accommodation
Course fees
Courses WITHOUT accommodation: € 1380 including course materials
Starting September 2010 the course fee for this course (incl. course materials) will become € 1660.
For employees of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University the course fee is: € 885 (English textbook included).
For students of the Postgraduate Master Program of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Utrecht University participation to the course is free
Courses WITH accommodation: € 3055 including:
- course materials
- lunches during course days
- dinners during course days
- accommodation for 12 nights
- daily transport from the hotel to the university and back during course days
Starting September 2010 the course fee for this course will become € 3335.
Full refund of the course fee will only be made in case of cancellation more than 2 weeks before the start of the course. In case of cancellation on a later date or no-show € 500 will be invoiced.
Programme
The courses start at 9 am and will last until Friday the next week at approx. 5 pm.
Contents (provisional; order of lectures may change):
First week
Day 1
- Introduction; general aspects of laboratory animal science
- Recognition of pain and distress
- Statistics
- Anaesthesiology; Analgesia
- Gnotobiology
Day 2
- Practical training (handling)
- Biology and husbandry of laboratory animals
- Laboratory animal science databases (PREX)
- Preparation of a protocol of an animal experiment
- Genetic standardization
Day 3
- Practical training (techniques)
- Preparation of a protocol of an animal experiment
- GLP
- Standardization
Day 4
- Anaesthesia/analgesia
- Behaviour and housing
- Transgenic animals
- Diseases of laboratory animals
- Analysis of a published paper
Day 5
- Practical training (techniques)
- Demonstration of handling reptiles, fish, and birds
- Animal welfare
- Nutrition of laboratory animals
- Alternatives to animal experiments
Second week
Day 6
- Ethical aspects of animal experimentation
- Euthanasia/humane endpoints
- Ethical acceptability of experiments
- Legislation
Day 7
- Behaviour, stress and well-being
Day 8
- Excursion (Central Animal Facility)
- Microsurgery (general aspects)
- Analysis of a published paper
Day 9
- Presentation of protocols
Day 10
Course Committee
Mrs. prof. Ohl, PhD
H.J.M. Blom, PhD
H.A. van Lith, PhD
T.P. Rooymans, BSc
For more information...