What must not be named : Facts, emotions and coping strategies to enhance animal welfare in research

Katarina Riesner; Linda Hammerich; Denise Jahn; Agnes Ellinghaus; Dietrich Polenz; Lisa Grohmann; Juliane K Unger

doi:10.1038/s44319-025-00429-1

What must not be named : Facts, emotions and coping strategies to enhance animal welfare in research

EMBO Rep. 2025 Apr;26(8):1929-1934. doi: 10.1038/s44319-025-00429-1. Epub 2025 Mar 31.

Authors

Katarina Riesner^{1

2}, Linda Hammerich^{1

3}, Denise Jahn^{1

4

5}, Agnes Ellinghaus^{1

5}, Dietrich Polenz^{1

6}, Lisa Grohmann^{7

8}, Juliane K Unger^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Taskforce Refinement, Charité - Univeristätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
² Department of Hematology, Oncology and Tumorimmunology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
³ Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Julius Wolff Institute, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁶ Department of Surgery, Experimental Surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁷ Taskforce Refinement, Charité - Univeristätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. lisa.grohmann@charite.de.
⁸ Charité 3R, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. lisa.grohmann@charite.de.
⁹ Taskforce Refinement, Charité - Univeristätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. juliane.unger@charite.de.
¹⁰ Research Facilities of Experimental Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. juliane.unger@charite.de.

Abstract

Scientists working with animals must maintain a delicate balance between conducting high-quality science and legal and ethical responsibilities. It is time to openly discuss their workload and emotional burden to improve both animal welfare and scientific quality in biomedical research.

Abstract

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