COURSE ON LABORATORY ANIMAL SCIENCE
TASK: Preparing a research protocol
On the basis of a literature search and with the use of the book "Principles of Laboratory
Animal Science: A Contribution to the Humane Use and Care of Animals and to the Quality
of Experimental Results" you are asked to prepare a research protocol for the performance of
an animal experiment on the following topic:
Investigate a new drug for the treatment of this disease.
* You may determine the specifications of this fictitious substance yourself in advance
(dose, route of administration, solubility, etc.).
You can use the internet for selecting the literature you may need. Photocopies of a number of
papers are present at the department. For selected references of which photocopies are not
available you may wish to consult the library of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine or the
library of the Faculty of Medicine, which is located in the Academic Hospital. It is advised to
restrict the selecting of references to recent papers published in journals which are present in
the above mentioned libraries. Older papers or other journals are not readily available.
While drafting the protocol you should pay attention to the following items:
1. Further specification of the problem. You are free to restrict or extent the problem.
Give a precise formulation of the working hypothesis to be tested.
2. Choice of the animal model. Give a well-reasoned explanation of the choice of species
and strain (if applicable) that you enter in your protocol.
3. Give an overview of 'materials and methods'. Be aware that this part of the protocol
should also contain the origin, housing, nutrition, and husbandry of the laboratory
animals to be used.
The part on 'methods' should contain a description of the design and performance of the
experiment with special attention to the number of animals to be used in both test and
control groups, the experimental techniques to be used, and the methods of anesthesia
and/or euthanasia, etc. Unknown physiological values may be estimated. Also, if other
information, that is not readily available, is needed, you are allowed to make
assumptions.
4. The opportunities for refinement and (dis)advantages of alternative methods or
procedures, when available, should be discussed. Give an estimate on the degree of
animal suffering.
5. Give your opinion on the ethical (dis)admissibility of the study which is to be
conducted and describe the arguments on which you based your assessment (benefit
versus animal suffering).
The design of the protocol is prepared with a group of 2-4 persons. As a group you are
expected to deliver a short (max. 15 min) but detailed presentation on your protocol during
the second week of the course. It is advised to make use of PowerPoint in order to illustrate
your presentation.
NB: You are allowed to select another problem of study than that mentioned above. For
instance, you could draft a protocol related to the studies you (are about to) perform yourself
in your institute. In case you select another subject, you should inform the organizers of the
course in due time.
COURSE ON LABORATORY ANIMAL SCIENCE - UTRECHT
TASK: Analysis of an article on biomedical science with special attention to labora-
tory animal science issues.
The aim of this task is to critically analyse an article that reports on a study including
experiments with laboratory animals.
Together with 2-4 other participants your task is to study in depth the attached article
in order to assess the strong and weak points of its contents with respect to
laboratory animal science issues. For your judgements, the information provided
during the course could be helpful. In addition, a number of questions and points of
attention have been added below for your guidance. It should be obvious that you are
free to add questions and issues yourself.
Please, start by individually collecting the strong and weak points and then prepare as
a group one written report (maximum two pages A4). This paper should be delivered
at the end of the course (part of the examination).
Some guidelines for the analysis of the attached article:
- Try to formulate the exact problem of study.
- Evaluate the design of experimentation in view of the problem of study.
- Is the choice of the animal model well motivated? Could the study have been
conducted with another, (lower) species or strain?
- Is the genetic and microbiological status of the animals adequately described?
Is this information relevant for the study?
- Are there elements missing in the part on 'Methods' that would make it
impossible to repeat the study?
- Which are the experimental techniques being performed? Try to assess the
level of discomfort or pain inflicted by these techniques?
- Are there any possiblities to reduce the level of discomfort without interfering
with the reliability of the results?
- Could the design of the study be improved, e.g. with respect to the use of test
and control groups, the number of animals used, and statistical aspects?
- Are the results presented in an adequate manner? Can the results be extrapola-
ted? Problems?
- Are there any alternative methods that could be considered to replace (part of)
the study?
- What is your judgement, with regard to ethical arguments, on the permissibili-
ty of the study?
