Course on Laboratory Animal Science

Course on Laboratory Animal Science, (ex. Art.9 Experiments on Animals Act,

Felasa A and B accredited)

Content/Objective

This course is designed to train participants in accordance with the requirements of Article 9 of the Experiments on Animals Act and is compulsory for anyone involved in the design and implementation of laboratory animal testing.

The course is composed of basic modules and species-specific modules. The qualification earned is essential for those needing to determine independently how animal experiments should be conducted. The course is available to participants who have completed a Master’s degree in a relevant medical/biomedical area or hold an appointment as an MD/PhD student. In consultation with the participant, the species-specific module may be taken at another location. The species-specific modules for the most common laboratory animal species mouse and rat are routinely offered by the University of Groningen.

Frequency

The course will be organized two times a year: in January and September.

Course schedule 2025

* Course 1: January 6 -January 24. The maximum number of participants for the January course is 24.

* Course 2: September tbd

It is recommended to schedule time before the start date to prepare for the course.

Enrollment form Animal Course

Deadline for registration is 2 weeks prior to the start of the course.

Study load

4 European Credit points

Duration

The course will take 3 weeks. A full time program of self-study, live lectures, and workshops, and a group assignment are planned in week 1 and 2. Week 3 ends with the presentation of the group assignments and with a written exam. Practicals will be scheduled separately. The written exam can be retested once.

Lecturers/registration

The lectures will be given by expert lecturers. The coordinator responsible for course content is Mrs. A. van Oosten, PhD, University of Groningen, member of the Animal Welfare Body. For additional information and registration, please contact the Central Animal Facility.

e-mail: cdp-cursus umcg.nl

tel: 050 – 361 6350

Research building, wing 3218

Antonius Deusinglaan 1

Huispostcode FA 29

9713 AV Groningen

Contents

The laboratory animal science course covers the theory behind aspects of research involving laboratory animals, including legislation, the Central Committee for Animal Experiments (CCD), the Animal Experiment Committee (DEC) and the Animal Welfare Body (IvD), ethics, setting up projects and animal experiments, microbiological status and health monitoring, anaesthesia and pain management, surgery and peri-operative care, stress/wellbeing and behaviour, field research, pathology, housing and care, quality control, and biotechnology.

In addition, participants will acquire basic skills in handling and restraining mice and rats within a practical.

Previous education

The course is intended for PhD students, staff and Master’s students affiliated with the University of Groningen/UMCG who have a degree in a field of medical or biomedical science, such as Medicine, Biology, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Medical Biology or Pharmacy. The course is also open to external participants who meet the entry requirements.

Admission to the course for interested parties with a degree in another area (such as Chemistry or Biochemistry) will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the course coordinator. A proven satisfactory level of knowledge of the comparative anatomy and physiology of vertebrates is decisive here. All participants will be expected to take a test in Anatomy and Physiology before the start of the LAS course.

For participants with a non-EER* Master degree the RUG needs to request an exemption from the inspectorate NVWA. The judgement of the inspectorate is based upon your file of Bachelor and Master degree and full program, both in the original language and in English. The course coordinator submits the request as an additional service to the course participants.

* EER = European Economical Environment (EU countries + Lichtenstein + Norway + Iceland)

To take the course your level of English must be at least grade C. See following:

https://www.examenglish.com/examscomparison.php

Anatomy & Physiology test for Laboratory Animal course

Anatomy & Physiology test for Laboratory Animal course

Participants of a Laboratory Animal Science basic course in the Netherlands must give proof of their knowledge on basic vertebrate Anatomy/Zoology and Physiology (equal to 200 study hours or 7.5 ECTS for each subject). The knowledge will be judged by means of a test (50 questions multiple-choice, 1,5 h duration, in English) that has to be passed successfully before your Art. 9 license becomes valid. The participants who fail can retest.

All tests for course participants of the University of Groningen and UMCG and external course participants will be held at the Central animal facility (CDP) under the responsibility of the coordinator of the course. route

The items of the Anatomy and Physiology test that will be tested can be found here.

Course fees

The course fees is €525 (for participants from RUG/UMCG, subject to change). The course fee for external participants is € 2085.

Course book

Jann Hau Handbook of Laboratory Animal Science 4th Edition, the handbook is available as e-book from the Central Medical Library. Copies of the book are available as pdf documents when you participate in the course.