Representatives from across the UK life science community joined Understanding Animal Research at the Wellcome Collection in London recently to celebrate the 79th Paget Lecture and the second annual Openness Awards. At the event, the LMB Biological Services Group received the highly commended prize for its Named Persons posters that demonstrate the responsibilities and work areas of all named roles working with animals within a facility, clearly connecting a face to a job title.
The LMB Named Person poster series consists of seven posters, starting with an introductory poster and then six colour-coded posters covering each of the core roles, such as Home Office Liaison Officer, Named Veterinary Surgeon, Named Information Officer. The posters were developed and produced by some of the LMB Named Persons as a communication aid, in order to promote and explain their roles to animal technicians, researchers and non-animal users. As well as explaining the important legislative responsibilities of the roles, the posters also emphasise that the people behind the roles are there to facilitate scientific research, incorporating best practice in animal welfare and the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement). In order to raise the profile of the roles and easily identify who the Named Persons are, names and photographs are included in the posters.
As well as being on permanent display at the LMB, the posters have been displayed at the recent Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA) meeting in Brighton, and will be on display at industry events in 2016. The posters are just one of a number of initiatives from the LMB Biological Services Group to help researchers, staff and the public understand the role and use of animals in science. The LMB is a signatory of the “Concordat on Openness in Animal Research” a declaration signed by many organisations involved with bioscience in the UK, who are committed to enhancing communication about the use of animals in scientific research.
Further References:
LMB Introduction to Animal Research
Understanding Animal Research Press Release