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Based on the requirements of UPJŠ FM units, resulting from the specific tasks addressed within the UPJŠ FM approved or submitted projects and changes in legislation (Government of the Slovak Republic Ordinance No. 377/2012 Book of Statutes and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Decree No. 436/2012 Book of Statutes), the original unit, the UPJŠ FM Central Animal Laboratory, became restructured. As a result of extension of the original scope of work, the unit was renamed to the Laboratory of Research Biomodels.
Opinion of the British Association for the Use of Laboratory Animals in Medical Research:
“The use of laboratory animals is essential for resolving a number of hitherto unresolved problems of medicine, and it should be allowed, if it benefits human society, if there is no alternative, and if the pain and suffering of animals is minimized as much as possible.”
There is no doubt that despite the development of the alternative methods of research (computer modelling experiments, experiments on cell cultures), science still cannot do without experiments on live animals. Animal research plays an equivalent role in the scientific understanding of the disease and the development of treatment effectiveness. Research animals are for the researcher a complex system made up of cells, tissues, and organs. Animal models respond to stimuli, giving thus the image of the component movement through a living system, and offer an idea of how the stimuli may response in humans. These are in many aspects biologically similar to humans, they are therefore an effective model for research.
The Laboratory of Research Biomodels is an important functional unit for the implementation of approved experiments and performance of experimental tasks at the respective UPJŠ FM units drawn up by schedule. It actively cooperates with the UPJŠ FM Ethics Committee and the UPJŠ FM LRB Advisory Committee for animal welfare.
Both the adequate material and technical equipment of breeding rooms ensures proper conduct of the trial, alongside with the provision of appropriate documentation of the experiment, which indicates a reasonable and fair treatment of experimental animals. It corresponds to the European parameters and the relevant legislation for the protection and “welfare” of experimental animals thus ensuring credibility, competitiveness, and the exact validity of the results.
The aim is to meet the research requirements of researchers for the use of biomodels in experiments, and also to create the conditions for a number of activities in the teaching of human medicine. The LRB will also contribute to spreading of other options for students engaged in research, in the implementation of research degree theses and dissertations at the UPJŠ FM.
