3R KNOWLEDGE CENTER
i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto
Address:
Rua Alfredo Allen, 208 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Phone:
+351 226 074 900
Email:
3rknowledge@i3s.up.pt
The i3S in Portugal
3Rs activities in Portugal have developed as bottom-up initiatives by the research community.
In the absence of targeted national funding for the 3Rs, Portuguese researchers have been successful in developing 3R-relevant research through international funding.
3RKCs is the first 3R Center in Portugal.
Some examples of 3Rs research in Portugal receiving international attention:
- The NOVA Institute for Medical Systems Biology (NIMSB) to develop research using human-based model systems, awarded in 2023 with funding through Teaming for Excellence – Horizon Europe.
- The development of non-animal models in the biomolecular diagnostics group at the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa. In 2019, the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) International Science Consortium Ltd early-career scientist award was presented to PhD student Patricia Zoio in this group.
- The development of less invasive drug dosing methods for rodents for which PhD student Inês Mendes Preguiça, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra was awarded the 2021 Refinement prize from the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA).
In Portugal, the main scientific societies for the 3Rs are Sociedade Portuguesa de Ciência em Animais de Laboratório (SPCAL) and Sociedade Portuguesa de Células Estaminais e Terapia Celular (SPCE-TC). Both are represented in the 3RKC Steering Committee.
There has been no targeted national investment in creating 3R infrastructures or providing targeted funding, although a parliament resolution from 2010 (Resolução da Assembleia da República n.° 96/2010) recommended the creation of a structure with the competencies of a 3Rs center.