Experimental Design and Analysis of Data from Animal Experiments
Introduction
The Center for Education and Lifelong Learning of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki welcomes you to the, “Experimental Design and Analysis of Data from Animal Experiments” seminar, a 21,25 -hour f2f course which will take place at the “Professor V. Katsougiannopoulos” Room at the Laboratory of Hygiene, Social and Preventive Medicine and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
The Director of the Programme is Dr. Anastasia Tsingotjidou, DVM, PhD, Associate Professor at the Laboratory of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece with longstanding experience in experimental protocols using animal models.
Start Date: 13/12/2022
End of the course: 15/12/2022
Duration: 21,25 educational hours
ECTS: 1,5
Applications are submitted online here from 12/9/2022 to 1/12/2022
Aim
The use of animals in research is regulated by the principle of 3Rs (= Replacement, Reduction, Refinement), according to which in every research experiment that uses animals, replacement (= there is no other way than the use of animals to achieve the purpose of the study), reduction (= all measures have been taken to use as small a number of animals as possible for the correct outcome of the research problem), and refinement (= that all efforts have been made for the welfare of the animals used in the research) must be considered. According to the above, the aim of the program is to train everyone involved in animal experimentation in the proper way of experimental design and subsequent data analysis. Knowing the necessary number of animals in research is the only way that the use of animals is done correctly with the scientifically sound result.
Objectives
The mandatory fields in the European Legislation on animals used for research purposes are listed at the official EU website: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/index_en.htm. In that respect, every researcher needs to know, before writing a research protocol, basic principles for its design, as well as the ways of correct data analysis, which are two interconnected conditions. There are several websites on the internet that refer to this process: https://eda.nc3rs.org.uk/experimental-design, as well as guidelines: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/ 0023677217724823, which should be followed for a proper experimentation. All these online aids cannot replace the f2f teaching of the subject, which is based on multiple questions with answers from the participants. For this reason, the seminar comes to fill a gap in the Greek scientific community. The lecturers are from the field of medical sciences or have special knowledge of statistical processing.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the course, participants will learn:
1. design for research reproducibility2. basic principles of animal experimentation3. basic principles of quantitative comparison4. the basic mistakes in experimental design5. practices for quantitative comparison6. defining the 3Rs in experimental design7. the 3Rs in the experimental program8. the size of the experimental unit9. the statistical tools for quantitative comparison
Participant selection & Requirements
The seminar is aimed at those who intend to use animals in their research, as PhD candidates, postgraduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. They may belong to the health sciences: doctors, veterinarians, dentists, and pharmacists, as well as to the biological sciences, or from the field of psychology and engineering, who need animal experiments for their research. In addition, it also concerns scientists who have already used animals, who would be well informed about the new data on experimental design and data analysis.
A laptop will be necessary to participate in the course, in order to run the statistics software, along with a personal email account. The free software InVivoStat wil be used for exemplification of data analysis, and should be downloaded from this page. Examples on how to perform the analyses with SPSS will also be provided, for those using this software.
Participants will be selected based on their CV and their relationship to experimental design using animals. In the event that more people are interested in participating in the seminar, they will be selected by a priority order.
Method
The seminar, a 21,25 -hour f2f course which will take place at the “Professor V. Katsougiannopoulos” Room at the Laboratory of Hygiene, Social and Preventive Medicine and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
At the end of each session the participants will form 3-4 persons working groups and they will be invited to solve problems and various hypothetical exercises. Subsequently, an exchange between the views of the different groups will be issued.
Educational Material
The course provides participants with:
- ppt presentations of the lectures
- printed material for the working groups
- bibliography from the lecturers (tentative): https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/the-design-of-animal-experiments/book252408,
https://www.cambridge.org/gr/academic/subjects/life-sciences/quantitative-biology-biostatistics-and-mathematical-modellin/design-and-statistical-analysis-animal-experiments?format=HB&isbn=9781107030787
Course Description
| Title and description of the learning module | Title and description of the sessions | Hours | Lecturer |
| Planning for reproducibility in animal research | 1 | Nuno Franco | |
| Quiz 1 | Experimental questions; objectives; testable hypotheses | 0,5 | Derek Fry |
| Basic concepts for animal experimentation | Experimental questions; objectives; testable hypotheses Controls/comparisons, replication, randomisation + blinding Experimental units | 0,75 | Derek Fry |
| Group Discussion 1: | Controls/comparisons, Experimental units | 1 | Derek Fry |
| Basic concepts for Quantitative Comparison | Descriptive statistics (Types of data)
Probability distributions |
1 | Pedro Oliveira |
| Exercise 1: Types of experimental data normal distributions | Data transformation
Introduction to InVivoStat |
0,75 | Pedro Oliveira |
| Common errors in design | 0,5 | Derek Fry | |
| Group Discussion 2 | Design errors | 0,75 | Derek Fry |
| Quantitative Comparison: practicalities
|
Descriptive statistics (Types of data) Assumptions in Statistical Comparisons: independence, normality and homogeneity of variances
Data transformation Comparing groups, Independence of data and pseudoreplication |
1,5 | Pedro Oliveira |
| Quantitative Comparison: practicalities (cont.)
|
Confidence intervals
Hypothesis testing (null and alternative hypothesis) |
1,25 | Pedro Oliveira |
| 3Rs aspects of design
|
Choosing a disease model. Replacement considerations. Refinement in design.
Controlling variability. The concept of blocking Basic designs: fully randomised, randomised block, factorial and cross-over designs |
1 | Derek Fry |
| Group Discussion 3: | Blocks and design options | 1 | Derek Fry |
| 3Rs in an experimental programme |
|
0,25 | Derek Fry |
| Quiz 2 | 0,5 | Derek Fry | |
| Quiz 2 answers and discussion | 0,5 | Derek Fry | |
| Exercise 2 | Using Excel and InVivoStat:
Randomizing; data entry for a two-group comparison; useful transformations |
0,75 | Pedro Oliveira |
| Sizing an experiment | 0,5 | Derek Fry | |
| Quantitative Comparison: statistical tools
|
Partitioning variability (t-test and its limitations)
Analysis of variance – ANOVA (one-way and two-way). Assumptions (normality and homogeneity of variances) |
1 | Pedro Oliveira |
| Quantitative Comparison: statistical tools | Post-hoc multiple comparisons
Factorial and Randomised Block Designs Power and sample size Power analysis with G-power and InVivoStat |
1,25 | Pedro Oliveira |
| Quantitative Comparison: further tools
|
Non parametric methods
Analysis of covariance; Multiway analysis of variance; Hierarchical (nested) Repeated measures analysis |
2 | Pedro Oliveira |
| Examination | 2 |
Evaluation/Certificate
For the successful completion of the programme, the participants should:
- have attended all the teaching units. Absences may not exceed 10% of the scheduled training hours and must be justified.
- have paid all the tuition fees by 03 October 2022
A certificate of attendance will be assigned to attendees participating in all lectures and exercises. A final exam will be carried out, and for those passing the exam, a certificate stating the passing of an exam will be issued.
Participants, who have partially attended the seminar or did not complete the exams successfully, will be awarded a Certificate of Attendance.
The Certificate will be signed by the President of the AUTh Center of Education and Lifelong Learning and the organizer of the seminar.
Participation fees/Discount
Cost: 300 euros * you will be informed via email from the director of the programme
Discount: Discount policy, provided at the Center of Education website, and is as follows:
30% discount
- Staff/Faculty working in the National Higher Education Institutes and Research Centers
- University students
- Unemployed
- European Youth Card holders
- Disabled
- Multi-child parent or members of a multi-child family
15% discount
- Graduates of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh)
- Those who attended a Center for Education and Lifelong Learning programme in the past
- Group registrations of 4 people or more in the same programme
For the provision of the discount, the application must be accompanied by the necessary supporting documents.
Application
Candidates can submit the application form online here , at the website of the AUTh Center of Education and Lifelong Learning.
Each application has to be accompanied by the applicant’s CV stating the involvement in the use of animals in research. Supporting documents can be sent to the following email: expdesign2022@gmail.com
In the event that the minimum required number of trainees is not gathered, AUTh Center of Education and Lifelong Learning reserves the right to change the start date of the program or to cancel it.
Contact
For further information, please contact:
Anastasia Tsingotjidou,
email: expdesign2022@gmail.com
cell phone: +30 6945772198