Laboratory Animal Scientists Association (LASA), India and Asian Federation of Laboratory Animal Science Associations (AFLAS), Japan jointly organized the 8th Asian Federation of Laboratory Animal Science Associations Congress at Hotel ITC Gardenia, Bangalore, India from November 29 to December 01, 2018. The theme was Laboratory Animal Science in India: Bridging the gap in Asia Pacific Region .
A one day Pre-conference workshop was organized on a topic Attaining AAALAC International Accreditation Myth and Fact in association with the AAALAC International, USA with the aim to promote the high standards for the care and use of research animals. Dr. Kathryn Bayne, CEO, AAALAC International inaugurated this workshop on November 28, 2018 and highlighted the need for accreditation and harmonization among various country guidelines. This workshop provided a platform to delegates from different countries to interact with experts and renowned international speakers and share their experiences on challenges in accreditation and local guidelines. A total of 65 delegates attended this workshop.
The main three-day Congress started on Nov. 29, 2019. Dr. Arvind Ingle, President of AFLAS and LASA India welcomed the guests and delegates. The Chief Guest Dr. Neelam Bala, Secretary, Animal Welfare Board of India inaugurated the AFLAS Congress. Prof. C. Balachandran, Honourable Vice Chancellor of TANUVAS, Chennai delivered the Guest of honour lecture. Dr. Noriyuki Kasai, Secretary General, AFLAS briefed about the activities of AFLAS. Conference compendium was released by the Guests and finally Dr. Ramachandra, Organizing Secretary gave vote of thanks. Subsequently, technical session started with key note lecture from Dr. Cynthia Pekow, Secretary General ICLAS, USA. Eminent experts from national as well as international organizations delivered lectures on advances in the field of laboratory animal science that included various animal models in toxicology, immunology, oncology, metabolic diseases, neuroscience, laboratory animal diseases, microbiological monitoring, in vivo imaging and animal welfare. The technical program included 65 invited talks spread over twenty scientific sessions. In addition, 52 abstracts were selected for poster presentation and three best posters were awarded with Best Poster prizes. An opportunity was provided to 35 vendors to showcase their products during the conference days. A total of 375 participants from all over India and 25 from different countries such as USA, UK, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Hungary, Italy, Sri Lanka, Netherland, Singapore and Denmark came together for sharing and advancing knowledge about recent advances in laboratory animal science. LASA India acknowledged the support of the Corporate/Institutional members of LASA India by providing them a 'Plaque' of appreciation during the valedictory function on December 01, 2018. AFLAS Congress concluded with handing over the AFLAS Congress flag to the next host country, Thailand. On behalf of the President, Thai Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Dr. Montip Gettayacamin received the flag from Dr. Ingle.
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8th International Conference of LASA India, November 25 - 26, 2017
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The 8th International Conference of Laboratory Animal Scientists Association (LASA), India was jointly organized by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi; CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi; and National Institute of Biologicals (NIB), Noida during 25th 26th November 2017 at Convention Centre, JNU, Delhi on a topic "Recent Advances in 3R s and Laboratory Animal Science".
The organizers of the conference had chosen this theme of Recent Advances in 3 R s as it was strongly felt that although the awareness about the concept of 3 R s is continuously increasing but understanding to the level which could lead to actual implementation is less. Therefore, it was thought that an enriching interaction with experienced international speakers from recognized establishments around the globe like NC3R s (UK), ECVAM (EC), AAALAC (USA), Jackson Laboratory (USA), Tohuko University, Japan and several more along with our national experts in the field of laboratory animal science would hone our knowledge on the recent advances in 3 R s and energize all the participants to improve their standards towards animal welfare and 3 R s which in turn would help us in performing high quality research and regulatory testing. This event included participation of renowned keynote speakers, oral presentations and poster sessions related to the theme of the conference. The scientific program consisted of 6 scientific sessions including invited talks by 11 national and 15 international speakers.
The conference was preceded by two pre-conference workshops on Experimental Design by NC3Rs, UK in forenoon and Hygiene in Laboratory Animal Facilities by Tecniplast, Italy in the afternoon on 24th November 2017 at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi. The delegates attending the hands on workshop on Experimental Design got a deeper insight about the key elements of experimental design, analysis of the results and their reporting for publications in reputed international journals as per ARRIVE guidelines. They also gathered information about the NC3R s experimental design resources and were given live demonstration of Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) which is available on their website for use by the scientists around the globe. The workshop on Hygiene in Animal Facilities was also critical as a good hygiene status is imperative to high quality animal husbandry, which is a pre-requisite to minimize the introduction and spread of infectious diseases to ensure that pathogenic or opportunistic microorganisms are not introduced into the Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) or immune-compromised animals.
More than 400 participants from all over India and 10 different countries such as USA, UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Netherland, Singapore and Denmark came together for sharing and advancing knowledge about recent advances in 3R s and laboratory animal science in these pre-conference workshops and the conference.