ANIMAL RESEARCH

NMS|FCM Position Statements on Animal Research

NOVA Medical School|Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (NMS|FCM) is a signatory of the Transparency Agreement on Animal Research in Portugal. This is an initiative supported by the scientific community in collaboration with the European Animal Research Association (EARA) to promote openness and transparency about the use of animals in biomedical research across the country.

Animal research plays an essential role in the knowledge of the biological mechanisms that are involved in diseases and in the development of treatments and new therapeutics. Without the use of animals in the biomedical research most of the medicines, antibiotics, vaccines and surgical techniques that are applied in human and veterinary medicine would not exist.

A part of the scientific work developed at NMS|FCM and that contributes to the improvement of biomedical field is thanks to the use of animals in research. In our scientific projects we use rodent models, fruit fly and zebra fish to understand the causes of several chronic pathologies, from diabetes and cancer to rare autoimmune diseases.

The welfare of animals used in research is a fundamental issue and the research carried on here strictly respects the Portuguese (Decree-Law no. 113/2013 of the 7th of August) and European regulations (Directive 2010/63/EU) that rule the use of animals in research.

The humane use of animals in the research performed at our institution complies with legal standards and is reviewed by ethics committee and animal welfare body which promote the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement). There is no research project that requires the use of animals that begins without the necessary animal welfare and ethical evaluation and final authorization by the competent authority. It is also ensured that both the animal care personnel and the researchers involved in experimentation have the necessary training and knowledge to perform research with animals.

Transparency Agreement on Animal Research

The Animal Research at NMS|FCM

At NMS|FCM when there are no other alternatives biomedical research of various relevant areas cometime uses animal models. We are strongly committed with animal best practices and follow the highest regulatory standards and humane principles. Our researchers strive to use the minimum number of animals possible and are actively looking at techniques to refine their experiments procedures. Find below some examples of laboratories and research projects with the five animal models we host: