This month’s episode of “3 Minute 3Rs”, the podcast co-produced by the NC3Rs and LabAnimal, is a 3Rs Prize special, featuring this year’s top three papers. We cover in silico cardiotoxicity testing, a novel experimental design and an animal-free alternative to antibodies – all in just three minutes. Listen or subscribe to “3 Minute 3Rs” via SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/labanimal-396053697/3-minute-3rs-march-2018 You can also subscribe via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/labanimal/id1244570103

This year's International 3Rs Prize has been awarded to Dr Elisa Passini of the University of Oxford for her work on an in silico model that predicts cardiotoxicity more accurately than animal studies. The Prize, sponsored by GSK, is awarded annually to recognise a paper that has significant impacts on the replacement, reduction or refinement of animals in research. This year's winning paper by Dr Passini and colleagues describes an in silico ‘drug trial’ that predicts the risk of drug-induced heart arrhythmias in humans with greater accuracy than animal studies, with the added advantage of representing the electrophysiological variability seen among patients. Dr Christian Tiede and colleagues from the University of Leeds were highly commended for a paper describing the development of Affimers, ‘alternative binding proteins’ that can replace the use of animals for producing antibodies, while Dr Michael Walker and colleagues from the University of Guelph, Canada, were highly commended for work on novel experimental designs with the potential to improve the statistical power of animal studies. Read more: https://nc3rs.org.uk/news/international-3rs-prize-awarded-computer-modelling-predicts-human-cardiac-safety-better-animal

Today we are hosting our annual #3RsPrize event. Our afternoon session welcomes back five past winners to tell us how their research has progressed since they won the Prize, and posters in our break out area showcase some of the NC3Rs projects launching later this year. The 2017 winner will be announced at 6pm this evening...stay tuned!

We are celebrating International Women's Day by highlighting some of the amazing women whose work is advancing the 3Rs, both in the UK and internationally. Read more on our blog post: https://nc3rs.org.uk/news/celebrating-female-researchers-international-women%E2%80%99s-day-2018

Our peer review and advice service has supported the major UK funders of animal research for over a decade, providing advice to both applicants and funders on opportunities to implement the 3Rs, raise specific animal welfare concerns, highlight where good practice is and is not being adopted, and monitor implementation of specific policies and guidance. Following the completion of our 900th review, our latest blog post discusses how the service fits into the overall peer review processes of funding bodies and considers the ways in which applicants might best prepare for the NC3Rs review. Read more: https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/news/13-years-and-900-applications-perspectives-and-advice-nc3rs-peer-review-service

María is one of our David Sainsbury fellows – she is currently working with families in Ciénaga, Colombia to combat whipworm infection through diagnosis, treatment and public engagement. Find out more about the project at www.wormhunters.org.

Our annual 3Rs Prize Event will take place on Monday 12 March from 1pm in central London. Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, the 3Rs Prize is awarded each year for an outstanding primary research paper reporting a significant impact on the 3Rs. This year we will be showcasing some of the research the prize has supported over the last twelve years. A selection of past prize winners will present their work and explain how it has further advanced the 3Rs since winning the award, after which the 2017 3Rs Prize winner will be announced. The closing date to register for the event is Friday 23 February. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit our website: https://nc3rs.org.uk/events/3rs-prize-event

Excitement in the office today as our brand new NC3Rs mugs have been delivered. Thanks Bell Integrated!

Our annual 3Rs Prize Event will take place on Monday 12 March from 1pm in central London. Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, the 3Rs Prize is awarded each year for an outstanding primary research paper reporting a significant impact on the 3Rs. This year we will be showcasing some of the research the prize has supported over the last twelve years. A selection of past prize winners will present their work and explain how it has further advanced the 3Rs since winning the award, after which the 2017 3Rs Prize winner will be announced. The closing date to register for the event is Friday 23 February. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit our website: https://nc3rs.org.uk/events/3rs-prize-event

In late 2016, the NC3Rs recruited two Regional Programme Managers, Dr Kamar Ameen-Ali and Dr Emma Stringer. Kamar's post is co-funded by the NC3Rs and the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, while Emma's post is co-funded by the NC3Rs and the Universities of Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham. Their role is to collaborate with these universities to promote and implement the 3Rs. In our latest staff blog post, Kamar and Emma share their experiences what it’s like to be an NC3Rs staff member 'on the ground'. Read the blog post: https://nc3rs.org.uk/meet-locals-nc3rs-regional-programme-managers-share-their-experience We are currently recruiting two new Regional Programme Managers to cover Cardiff and the South West of England (GW4 Alliance) and Oxford. Visit our website for more information: https://nc3rs.org.uk/our-vacancies

Are you a scientist with a demonstrable commitment to the 3Rs in animal research and a passion for driving scientific excellence? We are currently recruiting for the following roles within the NC3Rs: - Regional Programme Manager - Oxford - Regional Programme Manager - Cardiff & South West of England - Programme Manager - Challenge-led Innovation (Maternity Cover) - Science Manager - Experimental design, analysis and reporting Further information, including how to apply, can be found on our website: https://nc3rs.org.uk/our-vacancies

We are pleased to announce four new NC3Rs Fellowships, a commitment of just over £730,000, awarded to support 3Rs research in a range of disease areas. The four new Fellows will all be working on projects focused on replacing and reducing the use of animals in research, while at the same time addressing important scientific questions in their respective fields. Their areas of focus include chronic pain research, tumour progression and metastasis, and liver disease. Read more: https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/news/fellowships-awarded-support-early-career-researchers