We would like to congratulate Prof. Dr. Christa Thöne-Reineke on the successful establishment of the Research Training Group “Assessment of Behaviour and Stress Responses to Understand and Improve Veterinary Infectious Disease Models”. She is the spokesperson of the Research Training Group.
Infectious diseases cause great damage to the health of both humans and animals. The new Research Training Group aims to expand knowledge about infectious diseases in animals and at the same time reduce the burden on laboratory animals in research. Stress reactions and behavioral changes are monitored at an early stage for various laboratory animal species and pathogen classes, for example through changes in behavior or metabolism. Modern methods such as video observation and artificial intelligence are used.
Most animal models are currently indispensable in infection research due to their systemic nature, but the Research Training Group is specifically focusing on so-called “refinement” strategies. The aim is to minimize the stress on the animals and obtain meaningful research results - a benefit for animal health and medical research as a whole.