Brazilian Researcher Wins This Year's Basel Declaration Award for Education in Animal Research

This year sees the Basel Declaration Society (BDS) bestow its Award for Education in Animal Research for the sixth time. The 2017 winner of the award is Cilene Lino de Oliveira from the Department of Physiological Sciences in the Center of Biological Sciences at the University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil. This congenial Brazilian scientist teaches the 'Laboratory animal care and welfare' course at her university and is hoping to gain even more international experience through her attendance of the course in Switzerland, so she can offer her students the best possible teaching. 

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With the bestowal of its award on Cilene Lino de Oliveira, the BDS is delighted to see this distinction go to a committed scientist and teacher with strong communication skills.

She will take part in a one-week certified course (EU Functions A, C, D and Modules 10, 20, 21) at the Institute for Laboratory Animal Science at the University of Zurich, all expenses paid by the BDS. Participants in this course learn how the principles of the 3Rs are implemented in the day-to-day practice of animal experiments for the benefit of laboratory animals.

The 3Rs stand for Replace, Reduce and Refine. The concept of Replace means that alternative methods, such as computer simulation or cell cultures, should be used instead of animal experiments wherever possible. The term Reduce refers to the efforts of researchers to keep the number of animals used in each experiment to the absolute minimum through optimum planning of their experiments. The principle of Refine requires laboratory animals to be treated with the greatest possible care and provided with the best possible housing conditions during their entire lives, both in the rearing of the animals and also throughout the experiment.

Cilene Lino de Oliveira will continue to advocate and champion the principles of the 3Rs and ethics in the handling of animal experiments at her university. She is also an ambassador of the Basel Declaration Society and is committed to compliance with the Basel Declaration. "Hopefully, the experience in this course will improve my skills to train people who will conduct animal experiments in my institute. Moreover, I expect to bring home the expertise needed to help consolidate education in animal research at my university," adds Cilene.

Contact:
Astrid Kugler
Basel Declaration Society
kugler@basel-declaration.org