47th BCLAS Annual Symposium

Empowering the 3Rs: Innovation for Better Science and Care

 Anderlecht (Brussels), Belgium    22-23 April, 2026

Programme


09:30

Registration

Hall W

10:30

BCLAS General Assembly (for BCLAS members only)

Auditorium Elisabeth WOLLAST

11:15

Sandwich Lunch (only for members who attended the BCLAS General Assembly)

Hall W

12:00

Workshops

12:00

Start of parallel sessions

Workshop 1-1
Workshop 2
Workshop 1-1
12:00
EC platform: Reducing Animal Use through Data Integration: Meta-analysis and Bayesian Methods (Part 1)
Stefan VAN DONGEN
UANTWERPEN, Wilrijk, Belgium
Auditorium Elisabeth WOLLAST
Workshop 2
12:00
Tecniplast: Supporting Welfare, Breeding Oversight and Daily Operations Through Scalable Home-Cage Monitoring
Giorgio ROSATI
TECHNILAB-BMI, Buguggiate, Italy
Auditorium Louise POPELIN
13:15

Start of parallel sessions

Workshop 1-2
Workshop 3
Workshop 1-2
13:15
EC platform: Reducing Animal Use through Data Integration: Meta-analysis and Bayesian Methods (Part 2)
Stefan VAN DONGEN
UANTWERPEN, Wilrijk, Belgium
Auditorium Elisabeth WOLLAST
Workshop 3
13:15
Charles River: Recognizing Clinical Signs in Rodents
Karla ESPARZA
CHARLES RIVER, ‘ S-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Auditorium Louise POPELIN
14:30

Start of parallel sessions

Workshop 4
Workshop 5-1
Workshop 4
14:30
For Scientists: How to Use AI to Help Write Better NTS’s
Stef AERTS
ODISEE, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
Auditorium Elisabeth WOLLAST
Workshop 5-1
14:30
BENAWB: From Aggression to Stereotypies: Practical Approaches to Common Welfare Issues in Laboratory Mice (Part 1)
Auditorium Louise POPELIN
15:30

Coffee Break & Commercial Exhibition

Hall W

16:00

Start of parallel sessions

Workshop 6
Workshop 5-2
Workshop 6
16:00
Implementing Organ and Tissue Exchange: Platforms, Workflows and Regulatory Guidance
Carl CROSSLEY
A-TUNE SOFTWARE AG, Darmstadt, Germany
Quentin DUMONT DE CHASSART
FOD VVVL - SPF SPSCAE, Brussels, Belgium
Alison HOPKINS
A-TUNE SOFTWARE AG, Darmstadt, Germany
Auditorium Elisabeth WOLLAST
Workshop 5-2
16:00
BENAWB: From Aggression to Stereotypies: Practical Approaches to Common Welfare Issues in Laboratory Mice (Part 2)
Auditorium Louise POPELIN
17:30

End of the scientific sessions

18:15

Walking tour and city photo quiz in Brussels

19:30

Symposium Dinner

Au Bassin

08:00

Registration and Welcome Coffee

Hall W

09:00

Opening Ceremony by the symposium coordinator

Auditorium Lise THIRY

09:05

Modern Animal Welfare Science: From Avoiding Harm to a Dynamic Continuum Approach (KL01)

Jeroen STEVENS
ODISEE, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium

Auditorium Lise THIRY

09:45

The Use of Digital Ventilated Cages: an Animal Caretaker’s and a Management’s Perspective (PL01)

Natascha BROERSMA
UMC GRONINGEN, Groningen, The Netherlands
Ronald VAN OS
UMC GRONINGEN, Groningen, The Netherlands

Auditorium Lise THIRY

10:10

Exhibitors Short Presentations

Auditorium Lise THIRY

10:30

Coffee Break, Commercial Exhibition & Posters

Hall W

11:20

Research on the Use of AI in Follow-up of Pigs, Cows, Chickens and Fish (PL02)

Jarissa MASELYNE
ILVO, Merelbeke-Melle, Belgium

Auditorium Lise THIRY

11:40

Refining Oral Drug Administration in Rodents: Validation Micropipette-Guided Drug Administration (MDA) Method Across Multiple Applications (PL03)

Olga KRZYZANIAK
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH, Schlieren, Switzerland
Frida NILSSON
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH, Schlieren, Switzerland

Auditorium Lise THIRY

12:00

President talk on BCLAS activities

Auditorium Lise THIRY

12:10

Oral Communications Session

Auditorium Lise THIRY

Technical and Practical Challenges in the Anaesthesia of Immunodeficient Mice: A Case Study (OC01)

Silke ANDRIES
UANTWERPEN, Wilrijk, Belgium

Evaluating the Impact of Chorion Removal and Handling on Zebrafish Embryo Survival (OC02)

Joachim COBBAUT
UANTWERPEN, Wilrijk, Belgium

Facilitating the Use of New Approach Methodologies by Centralizing Available Expertise in the Re-Place Platform (OC03)

Maude EVERAERT
VUB, Jette, Belgium
12:30

Lunch - Commercial Exhibition – Posters

Hall W

13:50

Start of parallel sessions

Plenary Lecture
ANIMAL TECHNICIAN FORUM
Plenary Lecture
13:50
Report from a Project Funded by the BCLAS 3R’s Fund Jean Maisin: Immersive Simulation for Teaching Veterinary Anesthesia Skills (PL04)
Annelies DECLOEDT
UGENT, Merelbeke, Belgium
Auditorium Lise THIRY
ANIMAL TECHNICIAN FORUM
13:50
Micropipette-Guided Drug Administration: Practicalities & Hands-On Tips
Olga KRZYZANIAK
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH, Schlieren, Switzerland
Frida NILSSON
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH, Schlieren, Switzerland
Auditorium Louise POPELIN
14:10

Start of parallel sessions

PLENARY LECTURE
ANIMAL TECHNICIAN FORUM
PLENARY LECTURE
14:10
Tat-Fit for Inducible Transgenesis: A Pharmacokinetic Perspective on a Non-Invasive Refinement (PL05)
Charlotte BAKER
CANCER RESEARCH UK CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Auditorium Lise THIRY
ANIMAL TECHNICIAN FORUM
14:10
Micropipette-Guided Drug Administration: Practicalities & Hands-On Tips (continued)
Olga KRZYZANIAK
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH, Schlieren, Switzerland
Frida NILSSON
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH, Schlieren, Switzerland
Auditorium Louise POPELIN
14:30

Start of parallel sessions

PLENARY LECTURE
ANIMAL TECHNICIAN FORUM
PLENARY LECTURE
14:30
ZEFIX : Animal Platform Dedicated to Fish Science & Welfare in Montpellier, France - Focus on Pain Assessment during Cardiac Surgery in Zebrafish (PL06)
Aurélien DROUARD
INSTITUT DE GÉNOMIQUE FONCTIONNELLE, Montpellier, France
Auditorium Lise THIRY
ANIMAL TECHNICIAN FORUM
14:30
Navigating the Animal Facility: Situations, Scenarios & Best Practices
BCLAS LIVE
BCLAS, Brussels, Belgium
Auditorium Louise POPELIN
14:50

Start of parallel sessions

PLENARY LECTURE
ANIMAL TECHNICIAN FORUM
PLENARY LECTURE
14:50
Unsupervised Videotracking: A Promizing Tool for the Neurological and Behavioral Evaluation of Mice (PL07)
Mutien-Marie GARIGLIANY
ULIÈGE, Liège, Belgium
Auditorium Lise THIRY
ANIMAL TECHNICIAN FORUM
14:50
Navigating the Animal Facility: Situations, Scenarios & Best Practices (continued)
BCLAS LIVE
BCLAS, Brussels, Belgium
Auditorium Louise POPELIN
15:10

Coffee Break, Commercial Exhibition & Posters

Hall W

16:00

Using AI to analyse mouse behaviour and the impact on the 3Rs (PL08)

Christophe VARIN
ULB, Brussels, Belgium

Auditorium Lise THIRY

16:20

Ethical Aspects of the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Laboratory Animal Science (KL02)

Stef AERTS
ODISEE, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium

Auditorium Lise THIRY

17:00

Closing Ceremony – Poster Award and Prize Winners (Sponsors Quiz)

Auditorium Lise THIRY

17:20

End of the symposium


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