Latest news from the NC3Rs: March 2023

This year's International 3Rs Prize is open to applications from anyone in the world who has published an outstanding and original paper with demonstrable 3Rs impacts in the past three years. This prestigious annual award, sponsored by GSK, consists of a £2k personal award and a £28k prize grant to further the 3Rs impact of the winning research. Researchers in any field of academia or industry are eligible to apply.

Our newly evolved 2023 PhD Studentship competition is seeking projects with a replacement impact, as part of our strategy to train the next generation of 3Rs-minded scientists in skills and expertise of non-animal technologies. Up to two joint awards with The British Heart Foundation are also available as part of our continued collaboration. These awards should seek to achieve 3Rs impacts within the cardiovascular field and replacement, reduction or refinement impacts are all in remit. Email studentships@nc3rs.org.uk with any questions.

We have awarded £90k to fund two Technologies to Tools projects for the translation of NC3Rs-funded cell-based disease models through a strategic collaboration with the Milner Therapeutics Institute (MTI) at the University of Cambridge. Each award is supported with matched in-kind contributions from the MTI and aim to identify and validate potential new drug targets.

Do you have experience in operations, governance and financial planning? We have an exciting opportunity to work with the Senior Management Team and help to deliver the NC3Rs mission. This diverse role combines operations with strategic thinking and stakeholder management to effectively operationalise the NC3Rs strategy.

Are you interested in advancing the 3Rs through the creation and adoption of 3Rs approaches and technologies? Do you have experience writing for scientific audiences? This role will support our funding schemes to drive the development and uptake of new 3Rs research tools and models and disseminate the 3Rs impacts of our research portfolio.

The Virtual Second Species Mega Challenge has reached another milestone towards replacing the dog in toxicology studies for drug discovery. This Challenge aims to apply NAMs approaches, including advances in mathematically modelling, data interrogation and machine learning, to develop a “virtual dog” that can replace the use of the dog in studies to test the potential toxicity of new medicines. A team from esqLABS GmbH in Germany have been awarded £1.6M to develop their machine learning driven computational model.

Vivaltes Ltd have been awarded £50k through our Business Growth Scheme to support the commercialisation of the Xpaths platform developed to solve the DARTpaths CRACK IT Challenge. Xpaths is an in silico platform for the assessment of developmental and reproductive toxicology to reduce the number of animals used for pre-screening of compounds.

Thursday 30 March, 14.00 – 15.00 (BST)

Our Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) tool  helps researchers at any level design robust in vivo experiments. Following a presentation on the key aspects of the online tool, 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.

Monday 17 April, 14.00 – 15.30 (BST)

Are you a regulatory or industry scientists working with mAbs? Are you interested in exploring new approaches for chronic toxicity studies and opportunities to apply the 3Rs? Register for our webinar to hear about the work we have been doing in partnership with the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA), 14 pharmaceutical companies and the Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB), to re-evaluate long-term safety assessments of mAb therapeutics. The webinar will discuss two recent publications from the project, and end with a panel discussion where audience members will be able to ask questions.

Monday 24 April, 09.30 – 11.10, Brighton

If you are attending The Festival of Neuroscience organised by the British Neuroscience Association in Brighton this year, come along to our session on refining the use of head fixation and food and water control in rodents. Dr Chris Barkus will be hosting the session which focuses on the recommendations we published last year from our expert working group on refinements to rodent high-yield behavioural experiments. Speakers include members of the working group and other experts.

Wednesday 7 – Thursday 8 June, central London

We are pleased to be co-hosting the 2023 Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) annual meeting on the theme of Not just another NAMs meeting: NAMs for Safety Assessment, From Aspiration to Implementation. Through discussion among various experts, the meeting will focus on core questions relating to the practical application of NAMs across different sectors, touching on elements of safety evaluation. If you are interested in navigating the often complex intersection between innovation, health protection and the 3Rs – this is the event for you. 

The Royal Society of Biology (RSB) Animal Science Group has an important role in advising on and representing the Society’s views on animal science through a range of strategic activities, including in science policy. The group brings together representatives from the RSB member organisations with an interest in the funding, conduct and impact of biological research involving animals. The role of chair offers a key opportunity to lead the group in contributing to, advising and influencing the policy, strategy and outputs of the RSB.