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NC3Rs | 20 Years: Pioneering Better Science

Latest news from the NC3Rs: December 2022

A special end of year edition showcasing NC3Rs 2022 highlights, alongside our latest award announcements and opportunities and dates for your 2023 diary.

BBSRC/NC3Rs/UKRI announce 24 projects for novel non-animal technologies

In collaboration with the BBSRC and with additional funding from UKRI, we have awarded £4.7M to support the development of the next generation of non-animal technologies (NATs). Funded projects include complex in vitro models and novel in silico frameworks and cover a wide range of disciplines including neuroscience, infection and immunology, development and physiology.

Over £1M awarded in new PhD Studentships

We are excited to announce ten new NC3Rs Studentships, with a further two awards made in collaboration with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to be announced in the new year. Our Studentship scheme aims to embed the 3Rs principals into the next generation of researchers, and many of these new projects have the potential to replace the use of animals in research.

You can find project details of our new Studentships on our website.

New publication: barriers to blinding in in vivo experiments and suggestions for improvement

Best practice guidelines recommend the use of masking (also known as blinding) to increase the rigour and reproducibility of in vivo research but implementing it in practice is not always straightforward. Our new article, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, presents solutions to help researchers implement masking during experiments which use animals. We highlight masking strategies for different stages of an experiment, provide a case study, offer practical tips, and explore the challenges and opportunities for change.

Learn more about using masking in in vivo experiments from the 3Rs resource library.

Welcome to our new Board members

We are delighted to welcome two new members to the NC3Rs Board. Members of the Board contribute their expertise in scientific research and policy, and animal welfare, to advise and oversee our work. Professor Cathy Abbott from the University of Edinburgh joins the Board in January 2023, whilst Dr Andy Scott of Unilever’s Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre will begin his tenure in January 2024. We also thank Dr David Lovell and Professor Jon Timmis, whose tenure is coming to an end after five years.

Read more about our new and outgoing Board members.

Deadline approaching: Project Grant Scheme

Our Project Grant Scheme funds research that supports the development of new 3Rs approaches or technologies. We are currently accepting outline applications for the 2023 call. Full details of the scheme and guidance on how to apply, including writing about the 3Rs and common errors, can be found on our website and in the Applicant Handbook. Application forms are currently available on the joint electronic submission system, Je-S.

Deadline for submissions via Je-S: Tuesday 10 January 16.00.

For more information, visit the Project Grant webpage.

Vacancy deadline extended: Digital content manager

Are you a dab hand at social media and producing visual assets that capture attention? Do you know your way around a CMS? We are looking for a digital content manager to join our communications team. You’ll help us identify opportunities for the dissemination of our work and coordinate the outputs across our digital channels. The deadline for applications has been extended into the new year.

Deadline for applications: Tuesday 10 January 2023.

View our vacancies page for more information on the digital content manager vacancy.

NC3Rs 2022 – a year in review

Over the past year we have shared 22 news items, hosted 62 events and posted over 500 tweets! We’ve collated our top ten announcements and outputs from this year in a special festive news item, including 100 Tox Team papers published, 150 Project Grant Scheme awards and over £50M committed to replacement projects.

Read more about the work of the NC3Rs in 2022.

Call for 2023 CRACK IT Challenge ideas

We are now inviting potential Sponsors to submit new ideas for Single Phase CRACK IT Challenges for the 2023 competition. As a Sponsor, your organisation will set a Challenge to develop a product that addresses an unmet scientific and 3Rs need, providing in-kind support and end-user input. In return, you will receive early access to new technologies developed through your Challenge.

Deadline for new Challenge submissions: Tuesday 28 February 2023.

Webinar: Virtual demonstration of the Experimental Design Assistant

Wednesday 18 January, 9.00 – 10.00 (GMT)

Our Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) tool can help researchers at any level design robust in vivo experiments. Following a presentation on the key aspects of the online tool, including recent developments such as improved guidance on ANCOVA analysis, Dr Esther Pearl (NC3Rs Experimental Design Programme Manager) will answer questions on how you can use the EDA to design and plan your next study. Limited spaces are available on a first come first served basis.

Online course: PREPARE for Better Science

Monday 23 – Wednesday 25 January

Responsible Research in Practice in collaboration with Norecopa (Norway’s National Consensus Platform for the advancement of the 3Rs) are offering this live and interactive course across three days, to support researchers working with animals to implement the PREPARE (Planning Research and Experimental Procedures on Animals: Recommendations for Excellence) guidelines.

PREPARE for Better Science Course further information and registration.

Mini conference: Improving in vivo snake venom research

Thursday 26 January, 13.00 – 17.00

Organised by the National Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, this free online meeting will discuss the current snake venom lethality murine model. It will consist of talks from experts in animal models, snakebite envenoming, drug regulation and antivenom manufacture and will finish with a panel discussion of the requirements and development of a refined or alternative model.

This mini conference has been organised by NC3Rs project grant holder Dr Stuart Ainsworth.

Visit the improving in vivo snake venom research event page for full details and registration.

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Catch up on the latest 3Rs research with this quick monthly podcast, produced by LabAnimal, the NA3RsC and the NC3Rs.

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