The third APPG on human relevant sciences will be held (virtually) on the Wednesday 12th May 2021 at 3 – 4.30pm UK time where we will continue to gather evidence of funding sources and gaps for human relevant approaches in the UK.
Our final meeting will focus on defining changes required in regulations (Sept 2021) in order for these methods to be more widely adopted. A report of our findings will be available in Nov 2021. Call back here after the 12th May 2021 to hear what was discussed at the third meeting.
Confirmed speakers
Dr Vicky Robinson.
Dr Vicky Robinson has almost 20 years of working in animal research policy, including with the RSPCA and the Medical Research Council. In 2004 she was appointed Chief Executive of the NC3Rs, the UK’s National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research. Vicky is responsible for all aspects of the NC3Rs strategy, operations, and delivery of objectives. Vicky was awarded a CBE for services to science and animal welfare in the 2015 New Year’s Honours.
Professor Michael Balls
Professor Michael Balls studied zoology at Oxford University. He conducted research for a DPhil from Oxford at the University of Geneva between 1961 and 1964. After post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, and at Reed College, Portland, OR, from 1964 to 1966, he lectured in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia. In 1975, he moved to the University of Nottingham Medical School as a senior lecturer in the Department of Human Morphology. Professor Balls became Reader in Medical Cell Biology in 1985 and was promoted to Professor of Medical Cell Biology in 1990. Since 1995, he has been an Emeritus Professor at Nottingham. He was a Trustee of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) from 1979 until 2013, becoming editor of Alternatives to Laboratory Animals (ATLA) in 1983. Professor Balls was an adviser to the British government during the drafting and passage of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and, from 1987–1995, was a founder member of the Animal Procedures Committee (which advises the Home Secretary on all matters related to animal experimentation). In 1993, he became the first Head of the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods, retiring from this position in 2002. Professor Balls has won a number of awards related to his work for animals in laboratories.