Conference Examines Status of Animals in Society and Research

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law banning depictions of animal cruelty. Despite this decision, cultural perspectives about the status of animals in society are improving. This August, PCRM will bring together a global panel of experts to discuss existing and promising alternatives to the use of animals in research at the Animals, Research, and Alternatives: Measuring Progress 50 Years Later conference.

Fifty years after the development of the model for the refinement, reduction, and replacement of animals in research, often referred to as the “3 Rs,” the conference, taking place on Aug. 26 and 27, 2010, in Washington, D.C., will focus on animal experimentation and the burgeoning alternatives to animal research. The recently released list of the conference’s 20 presentations includes:

• Noninvasive Cognition Research in Nonhuman Primates and Other Animals
  Brian Hare, Ph.D., Duke University
• Economics of Animal Testing
  Thomas Hartung, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
• The Emotional and Moral Lives of Animals and Why They Matter: Expanding Our Compassion Footprint and Rewilding Our Hearts
  Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder
• The Future of Testing in the 21st Century: An EPA Perspective
  Robert J. Kavlock, Ph.D., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• The Love/Avon Army of Women: A New Approach to Breast Cancer Research
  Susan Love, M.D., Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation
• MIMIC System and Applications
  William Warren, Ph.D., VaxDesign Corporation
• What Is Missing in the Ethics of Animal Research
  John Gluck, Ph.D., University of New Mexico; Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University
• Pain in Animals and Subsequent Ethical Imperatives
  Larry Carbone, D.V.M., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
• Do Animals Experience Various Basic Emotions? The Evidence Overwhelmingly Says Yes!
  Jaak Panksepp, Ph.D., Washington State University
• International Frameworks for Protection and Prospects for Improvement: An African Perspective
  Charles Kimwele, Ph.D., African Network for Animal Welfare; University of Nairobi
• Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Chimpanzees
  Hope Ferdowsian, M.D., M.P.H., Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; The George Washington University Department of Medicine

Scientists, researchers, medical professionals, ethicists, students, policymakers, and government officials are all encouraged to register for the conference and submit abstracts on any of the following themes:

• alternatives to animal research;
• ethical considerations regarding animal research; or
• scientific considerations regarding animal research.

This conference offers 16.5 continuing education units for physicians. The George Washington University Medical Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (provider number 0000369) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

To see the complete presentation lineup, submit an abstract, or register for the conference, visit ResearchAlternatives.org

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