Krummenacher G and Gruber FP. The Doerenkamp-Zbinden foundation's chairs on alternatives to animal experimentation in research and education [abstract]. ALTEX. 2009;26(Special Issue):227-228. Abstract 803


Abstract

The DZS foundation is a Swiss-based foundation that has dedicated its activities and support to the development and promotion of alternatives to animal experimentation in biomedical research and education according to the well-known 3R principle (replacement, reduction and refinement) in the field of biomedicine. The foundation has undergone four eras of existence and development. In the last era, which started in 2004, the foundation's course has been strongly streamed into the direction of promotion of replacement and reduction alone. The last era of the foundation can also be called an era of chairs on alternatives to animal experimentation. Realizing the importance and the role of chairs on alternatives to animal experimentation the foundation has, up to now, focused on establishing endowed chairs at several universities. The first chair named "Doerenkamp-Chair for Innovations in Animal and Consumer Protection" was installed in 2003 at the university of Erlangen (Germany) by the foundress H. Doerenkamp personally. This chair has been installed for the period of 5 years and is now in a prolongation phase of 2 more years. It has been mainly focused on refinement and reduction by imaging techniques in biomedical research. In 2006, a "Foundation-Professorship for In vitro Methods for the Replacement of Animal Experiments" was installed at the University of Konstanz (Germany). The exceptionally good start of these chairs motivated the foundress to encourage the decision to place the emphasis of the foundation's work on the establishment of further university chairs. Since then the following chairs have been established:

In October 2008 at Utrecht University (The Netherlands) the "Doerenkamp-Zbinden Professorship for Alternative Methods in Toxicology" was installed. The chair will be financed for six years. In January 2009 in co-operation with the Egon-Naef Foundation the DZS established the "Doerenkamp-Naef-Zbind- en Professorship on Alternative Methods to Animal Experimentation" at the University of Geneva (Switzerland). The chair will be financed for six years. Also in January 2009 the "Doer-enkamp-Zbinden Endowed Chair for Evidence-based Toxicology" was established at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. This chair has been permanently installed for as long as the Johns Hopkins University exists. In July 2009 a contract for 5 years was signed with the Bharathidsan University, Tiruch-irappalli/Tamil Nadu in India to found a "Mahatma Gandhi-Doerenkamp Center for alternatives to the use of animals in life science education" with a Gandhi-Gruber-Doerenkamp chair.
 





Link to journal: ALTEX - Alternatives to Animal Experimentation