Basic biomedical research involving animals is facing ever increasing public scrutiny and legal restrictions. To counter this pressure, in 2010 the first conference “Research at a Crossroads?” was organized in Basel. During this event, the participants adopted the Basel Declaration, a call of the scientific community for more trust, transparency and communication.

As a follow-up, the initiators of the Basel Declaration are organizing the two-day event entitled "Pathway to more Transparency in Animal Research", taking place on October 17 to 18, 2011, in Berlin.

The event will be structured in a closed, first day during which only invited experts will discuss five special topics in breakout groups. The results of these discussions will be presented at a public conference, kindly hosted by the Swiss Embassy, on the second day.

The themes of the 5 breakout-groups are:

1.  Application of the 3R principles in fundamental research
How can Russel and Burch’s concept be best realistically implemented in the context of fundamental research?

2.  Training and education
What is the most effective way to implement ongoing training and education in today’s global and highly mobile science community?

3.  Management of pain and distress - severity degrees
The revised EU law will make implementation of a severity classification system mandatory in all Member States. What are scientifically most appropriate criteria for a well designed severity degree system? How do multiple genetic modifications impact prospective severity assessment? Do different species experience pain and suffering differently?

4.  Publication and transparency issues
Is it useful and feasible to publish so-called “negative” results? How can a system of mandatory lay summaries contribute to a more educated public dialogue?

5.  Communication
How can communication on the level of individual institutions be better promoted? Is there a need for a German "Forschung für Leben"?

Main Organizers:
Michael Hengartner (Zurich University)
Stefan Treue (BCCN, BFNT and German Primate Center, Göttingen)

Website of the event.

Website of the Bernstein Network about Animal Research and Computational Neuroscience.