The Francqui Chair 2017-2018 was awarded to prof. dr. M. Whelan from the EURL-ECVAM, European Commission with em. prof. dr. Vera Rogiers as promotor.

Prof. dr. Maurice Whelan is head of the Chemical Safety and Alternative Methods Unit of the Directorate for Health, Consumers and Reference Materials of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), based in Ispra, Italy. He also heads the JRC's European Union Reference Laboratory for alternatives methods to animal testing (EURL ECVAM). Priorities of his work include the development, validation and promotion of in vitro and computational methods for regulatory safety assessment of chemicals and for application in basic and applied research.

To date, the greatest efforts in 3R-alternatives have focused heavily on regulatory toxicity, a field in which great progress has been made, supporting a shift towards more humane animal experimentation strategies. However, alternative methods in basic and applied research, has so far received much less attention, with a heavy reliance on animal experimentation still the norm. This will be the focus of the upcoming IC-3Rs Symposium, which under the guidance of the Francqui laureate prof. dr. Maurice Whelan, will spotlight/highlight innovative research examples and new developments that spearhead the way forward!