Joint 3R Symposium 2023

The Innovation Centre 3Rs (IC-3Rs), together with RE-Place and the EU-TWINALT consortium invite you to attend their first Joint Symposium where (inter)national scientists will provide an insight into their research using the most advanced 3R-alternative models.

The Joint 3R Symposium runs during 3 consecutive days and will start with a closed pre-meeting of the TWINALT consortium in the morning of the 19th September 2023. TWINALT is a European Horizon 2020 funded project between the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine (NIOM), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) and the University of Milan (UMIL). The aim of TWINALT is to increase the capacity of the institute NIOM, based in the Widening Country Poland, towards available in vitro methods for toxicity testing by knowledge exchange and trainings. The afternoon session is open to all and will be devoted to keynote lectures on TWINALT relevant topics.

RE-Place is organizing the morning session on Wednesday the 20th of September. RE-Place is a scientific collaboration between the VUB and Sciensano, the Belgian institute of public health. RE-Place collects different types of replacement methods in one central database for which experience and expertise exists in Belgium. Six experts from the RE-Place database will be invited to present their work. During the afternoon session, young researchers will have the opportunity to competitively present their 3R research. Visit the ‘Call for abstracts’ page for more information.

The Annual IC-3Rs Symposium will be organized on the last day, Thursday the 21st of September. Until recently, most research in complex fields such as neurology, reproductive biology, neurotoxicology and reproductive toxicology, was carried out using experimental animals. However, studies of the brain and reproductive system in rodents rarely yield results applicable to humans. Therefore, new 3R-alternative methods for research on the brain and reproductive organs are emerging and will receive special attention during that day.

Poster sessions will be organized during coffee and lunch breaks over the full three days to trigger informal discussions among all participating researchers. Two prizes (250€ each) will be awarded: the best oral presentation by a young researcher and the most interesting poster.

We hope to meet you all at this exciting event!

Submission of abstracts for an oral or poster presentation at the Joint 3R symposium 2023 are now closed.

Posters will be displayed during the coffee and lunch breaks on all three days and oral presentations will be given on the second day of the symposium (‘Young Scientist competition’).

Abstract topics should focus on the 3Rs Principle in its broadest sense:

• Drug development and research, toxicology, risk assessment, …
• Alternative methods and New Approach Methodologies (such as organoids, organ-on-chip, in silico modelling, omics …)
• Other Reduction and Refinement techniques, …

Young scientists who submit an abstract will also compete for the best oral or poster presentation (250€ each prize). Anyone working in the field of 3Rs is free to submit an abstract for the poster presentation, but only PhD students and postdocs are eligible for the competition.

The best oral presentation will be evaluated by a jury. All attendees are invited to vote for their favourite poster. A QR code to the voting form will be available onsite and in the Symposium booklet. Both awards will be attributed on the third day of the symposium.

All abstracts from oral and poster presentations will be published in the booklet of the symposium.

Attendees who submit an abstract are entitled to a reduced registration fee (€50) for the entire symposium. Please indicate it when registering for the event.