Program Overview

---

Program Overview

The Laboratory Animal Science Function ABD course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of laboratory animal science, including legislation, ethics, and welfare, as well as practical skills in handling and using laboratory animals.

Course Content

The course covers the following topics:

• Legislation, ethics, and welfare
• Comparative and basic biology
• Nutrition, health, genetics, housing, and facilities
• Occupational health, pain relief, anesthesia, and analgesia
• Euthanasia, experimental design, and animal models

Learning Outcomes

After completing the course, students are expected to:

• Understand the complexities of animal experimentation and the need for current training to ensure animal well-being and scientific outcomes
• Explain the biological basis of laboratory animal breeding, maintenance, housing, and management
• Discuss the basic biology of laboratory animals, including behavioral and physiological needs
• Evaluate the scientific methods applied in animal experimentation, including blood sampling, injections, and anesthesia
• Plan an experiment in relation to experimental design, group sizes, and reporting

Skills and Competencies

Students will acquire the following skills and competencies:

• Practical skills in handling and using laboratory animals
• Ability to discuss and evaluate the basic principles of using animals for research
• Ability to plan an experiment and evaluate the ethical basis for animal use in research
• Competence to independently take responsibility for implementing and further developing practical skills in handling common rodents used for research

Teaching and Learning Methods

The course includes:

• Online teaching modules, including lectures, case work, and quizzes
• Plenum discussions in an online webinar format with a teacher
• Practical exercises handling live animals with instructors
• Evaluation model: Survey-based model

Literature

• Hau, J. & Schapiro SJ: Handbook of Laboratory Animal Science, 4th ed., Taylor & Francis, Roca Raton, 2021
• Additional review papers
• Animal experimentation legislation
• Exercise manual for Laboratory Animal Science

Recommended Prerequisites

Basic knowledge in physiology, anatomy, and pharmacology

Mandatory Formal Requirements

Full and satisfactory participation in practical exercises is mandatory. Students must perform according to the EU Guidance Paper.

Exam

• Type of assessment: Oral examination, 15 minutes
• Type of assessment details: Oral examination, 15 minutes in the presence of two internal examiners (online examination)
• A number of exam questions based on the entire curriculum are available when the course starts. On the day of the exam, two (2) out of these questions are drawn at random for the student to answer satisfactorily.
• The student must be alone in the room, and no kinds of notes, books, etc. are allowed.

ECTS

7.5 ECTS

Course Type

Single subject courses (day)

Workload

• Category: Hours
• Class Instruction: 20
• Preparation: 88
• Practical exercises: 16
• E-Learning: 80
• Exam: 2
• English: 206

Language

English

Course Number

SVEK17001U

Programme Level

Full Degree Master

Duration

1 block

Placement

Block 1, Block 2, Block 3, and Block 4

Schedule Group

Schedule A + B

Capacity

• Block 1: 50 participants
• Block 2: 60 participants
• Block 3: 50 participants
• Block 4: 40 participants

Study Board

The Study Board for Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science

Contracting Department

• Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
• Department of Experimental Medicine

Contracting Faculty

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Course Coordinators

• Axel Kornerup Hansen
• Klas Abelson

Teacher

• Dorte Bratbo Sørensen
• Camilla Hartmann Friis Hansen
• Otto Kalliokoski

Timetable

• 25E-B2-2; Exercise week_1;; Laboratory Animal Science Function ABD
• 25E-B2-2; Exercise week_2;; Laboratory Animal Science Function ABD
• 25E-B2-2; Exercise week_3;; Laboratory Animal Science Function ABD
• 25E-B2-2; Exercise week48;; Laboratory Animal Science Function ABD
• 25E-B2-2; Exercise week49;; Laboratory Animal Science Function ABD
• 25E-B2-2; Exercise week50;; Laboratory Animal Science Function ABD
• 25E-B2-2; Exercise week51;; Laboratory Animal Science Function ABD

Criteria for Exam Assessment

To achieve the grade passed, the student shall (in an adequate level) be able to:

• Understand that animal experimentation is complicated and requires current training to secure the well-being of the animals and the scientific outcome
• Explain the biological basis of laboratory animal breeding and maintenance, housing and management, including basic genetics and reproduction, health monitoring, housing, and handling (pre-, intra, and post-procedural)
• Explain the legal basis for animal experimentation
• Explain and critically evaluate the scientific methods applied within animal experimentation, including blood sampling, injections, principles for drug-development and testing, anesthesia, and analgesia, and evaluation of pain- and stress-related behavior in laboratory animals
• Discuss the basic biology of laboratory animals, including behavioral and physiological needs
• Explain and critically evaluate basic knowledge relating to design and evaluation of studies using live animals
• Give examples of commonly applied animal models

Skills

• Discuss and evaluate the basic principles on how to use animals for research
• Discuss and evaluate principles of procedures on their future experiments
• Discuss, evaluate, and argue about the ethical basis for the use of animals for research
• Be able to plan an experiment in relation to experimental design, group sizes, and reporting
• Handle, do minor procedures, and kill rodents for research at a level sufficient to fulfill learning outcomes 3.2.1, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 6.2.1, and 6.2.2 of the EU Guidance Paper.