Establishing novel welfare assessments and communication techniques to promote animal wellbeing in research

Working with animals in research is a highly contentious social issue worldwide. Often, current discussions on this complex topic involve misrepresentation and inaccuracy, and ethical perspectives are typically more persuasive than scientific facts. Dr. Eric P. Sandgren, Associate Professor of Pathobiological Sciences at University Of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), is a veterinarian committed to finding better ways to ethically evaluate proposed uses and improve the wellbeing of animals in research. He is developing novel communication formats that accurately represent both the costs and benefits of animal research, allowing people to reach informed views that take into account their values as well as the facts. By supporting scientific studies to identify best practices in animal care, and establishing quantifiable assessments of animal wellbeing, he will enable people to improve animal welfare in research and ensure that animals receive the most humane care possible.

For 10 years, Dr. Sandgren was the Director of the UW-Madison’s Research Animal Resources Center (RARC), the administrative unit on campus that provides oversight and veterinary care for all animals used in research, teaching, and outreach. In this role, Dr. Sandgren gained extensive experience with the regulation of research with animals. He also recognizes the importance of reaching out to the public—including those opposed to animal research—to explain the rationale for animal studies and how the animals are cared for. He believes that organizations willing to do experimental animal research should be able to explain and justify that work. Dr. Sandgren’s current research involves the establishment of a Center for Common Ground on Animal Research, whose members include students, scientists, bioethicists, and community members, including animal activists. He and his team seek to create an open and accurate communication platform concerning animal use in research, as well as develop ways to quantify and increase wellbeing in animal research.

  • The Communication Initiative - Through extensive conversations Dr. Sandgren has had with activists opposed to animal research, he realized that—though many have strong ethical principles that differ from his own—most shared the common interest of wanting to have more open, honest, and comprehensive discussions about animal research. Dr. Sandgren is working with a bioethicist, the UW-Madison Survey Center, and UW’s Department of Life Sciences Communication group to identify effective communication tools that accurately portray animal research, including both the potential benefits and potential harms. Their objective is to create communication models that respect and balance all perspectives, and help people determine if, when, and how animal research is justifiable. They are studying how (and how not) to communicate complex scientific issues in which ethical, political, and social considerations may affect people's decisions more than facts. Using surveys, they will propose and test spoken and written presentations to identify those that provide an audience the most balanced and useful information, enabling them to make better decisions about the appropriateness of animal research. Though an audience’s underlying ethical perspective may not change, the goal is to improve their familiarity and comfort with thinking and talking about the issue based on the information Dr. Sandgren and his team provide.
  • The Wellbeing Initiative - Dr. Sandgren and his team recognize researchers’ responsibility to maximize animal wellbeing and provide them with the best environment possible. Using support from scientific studies, they seek to identify best practices in promoting species-specific medical, environmental, and social wellbeing. While director of RARC, Dr. Sandgren supported research addressing specific questions about animal well-being for animals ranging from zebrafish to rodents to monkeys. Research is conducted with many species, and the best conditions to maximize their well-being are not always well-understood, especially for less common species. He and his team will add to this knowledge by supporting behavioral, biochemical, and physiological studies to identify the most suitable methods of care for each species. They then will advocate for adoption of the new science-based care standards within the animal research community. Finally, they will develop metrics to quantify animal pain, distress, and long-term impairment caused by experimental procedures and animal management, and then collaborate with those who work with animals to apply the metrics. The goal is to guide significant and continuous improvements in animal wellbeing, at the level of the individual animal, each animal care and use protocol, and the entire animal program, as consistent with both sound science and rigorous ethical review of every proposed animal use.

Learn more about Dr. Sandgren's work at vetmed.wisc.edu/people/sandgren

Once Dr. Eric P. Sandgren outgrew his childhood allergies, he was finally able to get a dog, as well as—to his mother’s dismay—pet mice and rats. As he continued his education as an undergraduate at UW-Madison, he combined his interest in lab animals with an intense excitement about science, and chose to become a veterinary scientist. He was accepted to the Veterinary Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Pennsylvania. While there, his training combined veterinary medicine and genetics, and both proved instrumental in his approach as a scientist who studied cancer genetics. At the same time, he appreciated the need to provide quality care for the animals he used in research. After receiving his veterinary degree and Ph.D. in Genetics, he returned with his research to UW-Madison. He became chair of one of UW’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees, which evaluates and weighs the benefits and harms of any potential animal research before it can begin. This was followed by a 10 year appointment as Director of UW-Madison’s Research Animal Resources Center (RARC). He also became the campus spokesperson for animal research, explaining how and why we work with animals, but also acknowledging our absolute responsibility for the wellbeing of those animals.

Now that he has stepped down as RARC Director, and returned to the faculty at the School of Veterinary Medicine, he continues his initiatives to improve both communication about animal research and the care of research animals. He teaches the ethics of animal research to undergraduate, graduate, and veterinary students at UW-Madison. He has found that the best way to approach this diverse group of people is to acknowledge their shared interest of wanting to improve the wellbeing of all animals. His fundamental objective is to enable individuals to understand the various views of how costs and benefits can be weighed, and how scientific facts can be combined with their own ethical principles, to help each make an informed decision about the issue for him or herself. His goal is to provide a realistic, open, and respectful discussion about animal research. As part of the communication and wellbeing initiatives, Dr. Sandgren and his collaborators plan to develop a fully-funded center. A funded center will strengthen their efforts and allow them to extend these initiatives beyond the university. 

When he’s not in the classroom, Dr. Sandgren is an avid gardener, and has taken to turning his backyard into a forested mountaintop. The dog, mice, and rats he enjoyed in his childhood have been replaced by three cats and a guinea pig adopted from local animal shelters.