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German researchers win welfare prize
Two German researchers have been awarded a new laboratory animal welfare prize.
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has awarded a new laboratory animal welfare prize to two researchers in Hanover and Ulm. The research funding agency created the Ursula Handel Animal Protection Prize, which consists of a €12,500 cash award, to recognise and reward the work of scientists that improved the protection of animals used in research. Ursula Handel, a life-long supporter of animal welfare, made a substantial donation to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to endow the prize.
Professor Klaus Otto of the Department of Surgery at the University of Hanover Medical School was awarded the prize for his work on the accurate measurement of the effectiveness of anaesthesia in animals. He developed a method based on electroencephalograms to replace the more tradition methods based on cardiovascular activity and pupil dilation. The other recipient of the prize was Professor Lisa Wiesmuller of the Department of Gynaecological Oncology at the Women's Clinic of Ulm. She had developed a human cell culture system which could be used to detect potential carcinogenicity as measured by DNA damage.