NC3Rs | Annual Report 2017 Pioneering Better Science Annual 2017 Report 1 NC3Rs | Annual Report 2017 About the NC3Rs Contents The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction Foreword 4 New resource launched for researchers of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) is a scientific organisation that leads applying to use animals overseas 25 1 2017 Highlights 6 the discovery and application of new technologies and approaches New resource for university web pages 25 that minimise the use of animals in research and improve animal UK Highlights 6 Supporting postdoctoral researchers: Global Highlights 8 welfare (the 3Rs). Fellowships awarded 26 2 2017 in numbers 10 Reviewing our PhD Studentship Scheme 26 We collaborate with scientists and organisations from across the life 3 Year of Laboratory Rodent Welfare 12 sciences sector, nationally and internationally, including universities, 7 Working with partners 28 Mouse handling 13 the pharmaceutical, chemical and consumer products industries, Academia and funders 29 other research funders, and regulatory authorities. Workshop at the IAT Symposium: Industry and SMEs 32 Playtime for rats 14 Public engagement 33 We support the commitment of the scientific community to the TaiNi: Not so tiny breakthrough in refined 8 Annexes 34 3Rs by funding research and early career development, facilitating neural recording in mice 15 Annex 1: Awards funded through 4 Improving the quality of science open innovation and the commercialisation of 3Rs technologies, response mode schemes 36 and stimulating changes in policy, regulations, and practice. through better animal welfare 16 Annex 2: Awards funded through 5 Enabling uptake of 3Rs methods 18 Further information can be found at www.nc3rs.org.uk CRACK IT Challenges 40 The IMPROVE guidelines 19 Annex 3: CRACK IT Solutions 41 Launch of SyRF 19 Annex 4: Events organised by Skills and Knowledge Transfer grants 20 the NC3Rs in 2017 42 Human tissue highlight notice 21 Annex 5: NC3Rs Board members 44 6 3Rs resources and training 22 Annex 6: NC3Rs Staff 45 The Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) 23 Acronyms 46 The ARRIVE guidelines 24 2 3 Foreword NC3Rs | Annual Report 2017 Foreword Over the years we have We have continued to invest in high quality demonstrated the benefits 3Rs R&D through our response mode funding schemes and CRACK IT programmes with a total a 3Rs focus can have, not of over £7 million committed in 2017. Supporting only on animal use but also early career researchers remains high on our list of priorities and we were delighted to publish on scientific discoveries and in the spring a review of the research from a commercial opportunities. selection of our outstanding PhD students. Leading projects nationally and internationally, Nevertheless, there is much more to do to our staff often focus on data sharing and acting ensure these benefits are fully appreciated and as an honest broker, a theme that also continued realised. 2017 saw the publication of our three- in 2017. After 11 years the Fixed Concentration year strategy, with a focus on bridging the gap Procedure for inhalation toxicology was finally between the development of 3Rs approaches accepted as an OECD Test Guideline. Still more and their adoption into routine practice – our work is needed to ensure the procedure is used so-called 3Rs ‘valley of death’. We recognise in practice, highlighting both the commitment that driving scientific and technological and tenacity required from any organisation advances in the 3Rs is just the first step. working in this area and the need for a global This needs to be matched with efforts to re-think of the evidence base required for build confidence in, and raise awareness of, regulatory acceptance, as well as the process the increasingly wide range of 3Rs approaches for achieving it. available to encourage the shift from long- standing animal models and procedures that Finally, the success of the NC3Rs is dependent the NC3Rs was established to deliver. on the organisations and individuals who actively participate in our work and we would like to During the last 12 months we have laid take the opportunity to thank all of those who foundations for tackling the valley of death. fund the NC3Rs, provide in-kind contributions, These include new partnerships, such as that or who readily give their time and expertise to F1000Research with providing a dedicated participate in funding panels and working groups platform for NC3Rs-funded researchers to for example. We are also enormously grateful to publish detailed 3Rs methodologies; new the MRC and BBSRC, our major funders. funding schemes, such as the Skills and Knowledge Transfer awards for de-risking Dr Vicky Robinson CBE the adoption of 3Rs approaches; and new NC3Rs Chief Executive appointments of Regional Programme Managers in affiliation with universities committed to Professor Stephen Holgate CBE the 3Rs, who offer ‘on-the-ground support’ NC3Rs Board Chairman to researchers at these institutions. 4 5 UK Highlights NC3Rs | Annual Report 2017 UK Highlights The Regional Programme Manager scheme: Updating our non-human primate guidelines NC3Rs/ZSL Amphibian Workshop: Exploring Supporting institutions to actively promote for accommodation, care and use approaches to improve amphibian welfare the 3Rs Originally published in 2006, the non-human There is little established guidance for the A key theme described in the NC3Rs Ten Year primate (NHP) guidelines provide an overview husbandry and care of amphibians, despite Vision was the need to help promote and of good practice for NHP accommodation, care their growing use in research. Amphibian implement the 3Rs in universities. To facilitate and use. Compliance with the guidelines is a welfare is complex as the field is diverse this, we have appointed Regional Programme grant condition of many UK funding bodies, with many different species used, often Managers who individually support a small including for the work they support overseas. involving multiple life stages with differing number of universities. In 2017, the guidelines were updated taking welfare considerations. In collaboration with into account new animal welfare science the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), we Throughout 2017, the Regional Programme and addressing common issues identified organised a workshop to bring together Managers have been providing dedicated 3Rs through the peer review service provided by experts from the laboratory, zoological and expertise to researchers and animal facility the NC3Rs for research involving NHPs. The field communities to explore approaches staff, helping to exchange information between 2017 guidelines contain additional information to help improve amphibian welfare in institutions, promote NC3Rs funding schemes on experimental design and reporting, research. The workshop was attended by and address priority 3Rs areas identified by environmental enrichment, and veterinary over 60 delegates and identified a number their universities. A range of 3Rs symposia and care and welfare assessment. of key questions relating to the housing and workshops have been organised with more husbandry of amphibians that we will be than 400 delegates to highlight and share The NC3Rs Gateway: a partnership with taking forward in 2018. excellent 3Rs work locally, including dedicated F1000Research events on fish welfare, mouse housing and chronic implants. In 2017, we announced our new collaboration F1000Research with to develop the NC3Rs Currently the Regional Programme Managers gateway. We are one of a small number of are working with the Universities of Liverpool, funding bodies, including Wellcome, to provide Manchester and Sheffield, (Dr Kamar Ameen- a dedicated platform for grant holders to Ali) and Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham publish their research in detail. Our gateway will (Dr Emma Stringer). In 2018, the scheme ensure that all of the work funded by the NC3Rs, will be expanded to include the Universities including methodology, negative results and of Oxford, Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, 3Rs impacts, is available in the public domain enabling researchers to easily connect to promoting transparency and reproducibility. the 3Rs in these institutions. These posts are The gateway is due for launch in April 2018. co-funded by the universities illustrating their commitment to the 3Rs. 6 7 Global Highlights NC3Rs | Annual Report 2017 Global Highlights New podcast: ‘3 minute 3Rs’ Supporting regulatory change: New Test 3Rs Prize 2017: Computer modelling can Promoting the use of the experimental Guideline adopted by OECD predict human cardiac safety better than design resources LabAnimal Together with , a Nature Research animal studies journal, and the North American 3Rs The Fixed Concentration Procedure (FCP) has Responding to international demand, we Collaborative we launched a new monthly been adopted as OECD Test Guideline 433 for The 3Rs Prize 2017 was awarded for work participated in more than 30 events about in silico three-minute podcast summarising the latest acute inhalation toxicity studies, following almost describing an ‘drug trial’ which predicted experimental design and reporting (the international research and news in 3Rs science a decade of efforts led by the NC3Rs and working the risk of drug-induced heart arrhythmias in EDA and ARRIVE guidelines). This included and technology. The papers are presented in with colleagues from Public Health England and humans with higher accuracy than data obtained talks and workshops, both internationally