Optimising animal studies
We strive to improve the quality and reproducibility of our research to avoid duplication of studies.
PREPARE Guidelines
The PREPARE (Planning Research and Experimental Procedures on Animals: Recommendations for Excellence) guidelines (link: https://norecopa.no/PREPARE) – launched by the Norwegian Centre Norecopa (link: https://norecopa.no) and co-authored by a senior Edinburgh University scientist – provide a fifteen-point check list for researchers from day one of planning. PREPARE acts as an aide memoire for busy researchers and gives them advice on all the issues which may affect the scientific validity and translatability of their research, as well as the animals' welfare.
ARRIVE Guidelines
The ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) aim to improve the design and reporting of research involving animals in order to prevent duplicate studies.
The guidelines – launched by the NC3Rs – provide a twenty point check list for researchers to follow that enable data collected from animal studies to be fully evaluated and utilised by other scientists. This ensures that we maximise the information that can be gleaned from our research.
CAMARADES group
The University’s CAMARADES group – the Collaborative Approach to Meta-Analysis and Review of Animal Data from Experimental Studies –uses systematic review and meta-analysis to develop guidance on how scientists can design experiments to ensure their results are robust and that animal studies are not repeated unnecessarily.
Using the same approach to summarise existing information, they also aim to facilitate the development of new medicines by securing the most efficient use of information from animal studies.