Prof.dr. J.R. (Judith) Homberg

Animals have their own value, so they should always be treated with care and respect. However, animal research is still needed to protect human and animal health and to keep our environment safe. The long-term goal is to move toward research without animals, but this will take time. 

Many efforts are therefore focused on developing animal-free research methods. At the same time, current animal research can also help move us closer to this goal. This can be done by changing how animal studies are carried out, reducing the number of animals used, and improving experiments so that animals experience as little harm as possible.

When animals are able to show more natural behavior, their well-being improves, and this often leads to better research results. In addition, smarter study designs and collecting more data from each animal can help reduce the total number of animals needed, without lowering scientific quality.
By combining different research methods, it becomes possible to make a responsible and realistic transition toward animal-free research, while maintaining high scientific standards. As a researcher in translational neuroscience and a member of the NCad, I am committed to contributing to this effort by working together with experts from different fields and with relevant stakeholders.