Advanced laboratory animal science

Course overview

The course is for PhD students, post docs and other researchers, and corresponds to what is described in §56 of Executive Order no. 1065 of of 25/09/2024, chapter 14, on qualification requirements for personnel working with laboratory animals, and is approved by the responsible Danish authority (Fødevarestyrelsen).

The course entitles those who have taken it to independently plan and carry out animal experiments under their own animal experimental license, cf. functions A, B and D as described in EU Directive 2010/63/EU Article 23.2:

A: Carrying out procedures

B: Designing procedures and projects

D: Euthanize animals

Registration and questions

The course is administered by the Graduate School of Health, and registration takes place via the course calendar. The course can be found by searching for 'laboratory animal science'. Questions regarding registration and payment can be directed to Kursusteam NAT,TECH and Health courses.nat.tech.he@au.dk.

For further information about the course, course leader Martin Kristian Thomsen can be contacted at mkt@biomed.au.dk or you can contact the veterinarians at Department of Biomedicine at vet.biomed@biomed.au.dk.

Course Content

The course is held once a year in October, and ends with the submission and evaluation of a written assignment. The course is an intensive one-week course, and contains both theoretical and practical teaching. The theory covers, among other things:

  • Design and planning of experiments and experimental procedures
  • Statistical analysis of animal experimental data
  • ARRIVE guidelines and 3R
  • Extended legislation
  • Advanced anesthesia and pain management

During practical exercises, advanced surgical techniques are taught on mice and rats.

Course format

This is a course requiring physical presence. 

It is available once a year and duration is one week corresponding to approximately 40 hours of work.

The course ends with submission and evaluation of a written assignment.

The course is taught in English.

Course fee

Participation in the course is without cost for:

  • PhD students and Health Research Year students from Aarhus University
  • PhD students enrolled at partner universities of the Nordoc collaboration
  • PhD students from other institutions in the open market agreement for PhD courses

Others: 9.000 DKK.