University features in Sun exclusive
The University has featured in a national report on animal research.
A writer and photographer from The Sun were given access to our biomedical research facility and had the chance to witness research as well as talk to academics, technicians and professional services staff.
The resulting article ran with the following headline:
Lab researching cure to the obesity crisis experiments on rats to see how the brain reacts to food
You can read the full article here
The visit came about following a national request from the Science Media Centre to host the reporter and Leicester took up this opportunity. The visit was spearheaded by Heather Sanders, Director of Biomedical Services, and a range of research was presented to the writer. She met with a number of staff from the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences & Psychology and toured the facility.
Andrew Fry, Director of Research in the College said: "At Leicester we're very keen to make sure that we are completely open about the animal research that we undertake and that it fully adheres to all national guidelines. Our research on animals is entirely aimed at improving human health and includes important studies on some of the most common and devastating illnesses, from cancer and heart diseases to diabetes and obesity. Many important breakthroughs have been made as a result of our animal research and it's vital that we explain this clearly to the public."
The coverage arising from the visit has generated praise.
Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research who supported the University throughout the project, said: “Many congratulations - I know it’s nail-biting stuff doing visits like this, but pitch-perfect coverage like this shows that it is so worth persevering.”
Bella Williams from UAR described the article as ‘fantastic’ and Fiona Fox from the Science Media Centre said it was great coverage for Leicester. Tom Holder from UAR supported the University throughout the visit to provide the wider context of animal research in the UK.
President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle has also commented on the story in an announcement on our Staff website.
You can find examples of other media coverage on animal research at Leicester here
We were among the first institutions to sign the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research and our work has informed national guidelines on the subject.
Last year Leicester won a national award for its trail-blazing approach towards Openness on animal research.
The website Speaking of Research has praised the University's approach to openness in an article on the Sun feature.