Being transparent about animal research
The conference, a mix of keynotes, panel discussions and interactive session formats, was a coordinated effort between European Animal Research Association (EARA), our center and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. It welcomed over 200 participants from 23 countries across the EU and beyond, including the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America, South Africa, Mauritius and New Zealand.
The meeting started with Fiona Fox, CEO and co-founder of the Science Media Centre (SMC) in the United Kingdom, who showed that tackling the communication of controversial science is at the core of their mission. Of the period since the SMC began in 2002 and dealt with animal research controversies in the media, she said: “Openness pulled the rug from under the activists’ core accusation — secrecy.”
Acknowledging emotion strengthens trust
Her talk was followed by other speakers and a panel discussion with experts in science journalism, social media communication about animal research, and on how AI is changing communication. The session brought together different perspectives and opinions on the use of emotion to convey scientific messages. Sascha Karberg, head of the science desk at Der Tagesspiegel, stated: “Acknowledging emotion does not replace rigor; it strengthens trust.” Also discussed was the use of unconventional platforms like TikTok and AI models such as ChatGPT to decode complex scientific topics. One of the speakers, Alba Móran-Alvárez, said: “People make health decisions from TikTok and AI — so experts have to show up there,” a point reinforced by Andy Ridgeway: “AI will not replace [scientific] reporting, but it will reshape it.”
To mark its tenth anniversary, the European Animal Research Association (EARA) hosted its first conference, “Shaping the Future of Animal Research Communication,” at the Max Delbrück Center as part of Berlin Science Week.
Lunch was followed by workshops led by the EARA team on openness implementation, conveying messages through social media, and how institutional websites must include public-facing content on animal research to promote transparency. The sessions were also interspersed with flash talks, poster sessions, and many coffee breaks and meals that stimulated networking.
An afternoon session explored various elements of animal welfare – the 3Rs, particularly the most ignored one, refinement, as well as genetically altered animals and the controversial use of non-human primates in research. It showed how diverse all of these technologies and approaches are, always with the humane use of animals in mind. However, they might be lost in translation when communicating them to the public. New strategies are needed to increase public trust in animal research at every step and process.
Openness, accountability and rigor
The evening keynote by Lucie Côté, Director of the MUHC at McGill University in Canada, conveyed a recent story on how quickly tides can turn in research-heavy countries like Canada when a scandal, distorted by activist groups and the media, hits the scientific community. That is why the Canadian Transparency Agreement is evolving quickly and already has so many prospective signatories. “Be ready, be open, be coordinated.”
The next day started with another keynote from Susanna Louhimies, Policy Coordinator at the European Commission, who presented the evolution of proactive communication by EU member states, reflected on the release of annual statistics and the mandatory publication of non-technical summaries. She said: “We use animals under a privilege, and our side of the bargain is openness, accountability and rigor.” Louhimies also surprised the audience by launching the new platform within ALURES during her talk. The new platform, designed to increase accessibility to often cryptic summaries, features filters and translations into the many native languages of the EU, partly curated by AI.
The session on openness and transparency showed how the UK Concordat, the first Transparency Agreement in the world, led the wave of change that spread across Europe, as shown by the work of the German partner institutions such as the Max Delbrück Center and Charité. It concluded with talks on patient engagement, from both the private sector and patient associations, highlighting once again the importance of including patients in the conversation, not only on animal research but on science in general. Pepe Solves from CUH in Spain said: “If you explain what you do and why, people can support you — even if a cure isn’t today.”
Dial down the megaphone, dial up the dialogue
In Hot Topics in Science, experts in communicating about vaccine hesitancy, genetically modified organisms, and climate change have strategies in place that could very well be applied to animal research and controversial scientific topics overall. Michael Fitzpatrick, a GP expert in vaccine hesitancy, said: “Dial down the megaphone; dial up the dialogue.”
Kirk Leech, Executive Director of EARA, finished with the closing remarks and said, “EARA2025 proved that when science opens up, trust grows.” He thanked all the involved teams and participants, announced the winners for EARA 2025 Best Flash-Talk (Sebastian Löser – University of Göttingen) and Best Poster (Natascha Drude – Pro-Test Deutschland), and announced the next EARA Conference, which will take place in 2027 in Lisbon.
