Animal Research

Animal Research

The complete UMCG infrastructure for all animal facilities to allow top-notch research to be performed. Facility
The complete UMCG infrastructure for all animal facilities to allow top-notch research to be performed.
The University of Groningen (UG) and the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) conduct animal experiments for research and teaching purposes because some important questions cannot be answered without the use of laboratory animals. We are honest about these activities and have set up this website to show how we conduct animal studies and what we take into consideration when performing animal experiments. This is our contribution to the social debate about animal experiments, in which anyone can take a stand based on objective information.

We are open about these activities and we will show you how we conduct animal studies and what we take into consideration in such testing. This is our contribution to the social debate about animal experiments in which anyone can form a considered opinion.

Animal research and animal research facilities play an important role in research performed at the UMCG. Animal species are used in every research and development stage because, in various ways, their biological systems, genetic structures, and immunological responses closely mirror ours.

We wish to conduct the animal studies that are necessary to achieve the goal set in the best possible manner, which means providing laboratory animals with optimal care, promoting their welfare, and providing animal experimenters with optimal support.

Relevance

Why are animal experiments necessary?

Staying healthy while getting older (Healthy Ageing), adapting to changing circumstances (Adaptive Life), and creating a robust society (Sustainable Society) are focal points at the UMCG and the UG. Therefore, many of our research programmes focus on topics such as healthy ageing, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease, which sometimes require animal testing. Animal experiments are also required to study ecological phenomena such as bird migration.

  • The aim of the UG and the UMCG is to have top-level fundamental and applied research programmes that are highly appraised worldwide. We wish to conduct the animal studies that are necessary to achieve this goal in the best possible manner, which means providing laboratory animals with optimal care, promoting their welfare, and providing animal experimenters with optimal support.

    Sixty-five percent of our animal tests are conducted at the UMCG and 35% at the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE), where animal testing takes place in several research institutes.

  • Animal studies have to comply with strict legislation and regulations. Since 1977, the handling of laboratory animals in the Netherlands has to comply with the Dutch Act on Animals used for Scientific Purposes (Wet op de dierproeven, or Wod in Dutch). In 1985, the Animal Experiments Decree (Dierproevenbesluit in Dutch) was adopted to further describe the requirements. The Act is based on the principle of only allowing animal experiments if there are no alternatives. If researchers are able to conduct their study using, for instance, a computer model or slaughterhouse material, they will not be allowed to use animals for their experiments.


     

Facilities and laboratories

Below you can find all facilities and laboratories where animal experiments are carried out or where experiments are carried out and techniques are being used related to animal testing.

Animal research facilities

  • The Central Animal Facility facilitates and offers high-quality support for experimental animal research with optimal promotion of laboratory animal welfare.

    For more information, please visit: Central Animal Facility.

     

  • The Transgenic Mouse Clinic for Ageing Research offers various gene editing tools to build innovative genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) for biomedical research.

    For more information, please visit: Transgenic Mouse Unit.

  • The MCCA aims to accelerate the development of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of human cancer and ageing syndromes. These mouse models will be used to develop new therapies against cancer and ageing-related diseases.

    For more information, please visit: MCCA.

     

  • The Dutch Molecular Pathology Centre provides cutting-edge techniques and extensive expertise in molecular and morphological analyses. Our services include qualified analyses of genetically modified animals and animal models of human diseases.

    For more information, please visit: Dutch Molecular Pathology Centre.

     

  • We combine small animal imaging modalities to achieve excellent multimodality imaging by sharing expertise and provide one single portal for internal and external researchers.


    For more information, please visit: GRONSAI.

     

  • We offer ex-situ machine perfusion for organs derived from small animals (mice and rats) as well as large animals (pigs and sheep).

    For more information, please visit: Research Organ Preservation and Resuscitation.

     

Specific animal laboratories

  • Molecular Neurobiology of Ageing, more information about this lab will follow as soon as possible.

  • Molecular and Cellular Biology, more information about this lab will follow as soon as possible.