Governance bodies of EPFL, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, CHUV and HUG promote high quality scientific research, in accordance to swiss and european legal requirements, respecting ethical guidelines and fully complying to animal welfare and needs.
Scientific resaerch aim to both understand and decipher biological process at the origin of all life and find solutions to public health issues (cancer, infectious, metabolic, neurologic or genetic diseases). Fields of research are various (human or animal physiology, pathology, neurology, embryology, immunology, genetic) as well as methodologies: some are based on the use of animal models (in vivo), some are based on the use of cells or organs culture (in vitro), some are based on computational modelization (in silico); numbers are based on those 3 axes ( in vivo, in vitro and in silico).
In life sciences, wether in fundamental research or in pre-clinical research, choice of a model organism is difficult. Scientists work with differents organisms: bacteria, yeasts, invertebrates such as flies and worms, and vertebrates such as fishes, birds, or mammals; rodents, rabbits and farm animal are the most choosed models. Cats and dogs are not choosed as research models in our institutions.
This choice depends on both scientific hypothesis and type of answers the scientist must find to increase knowledge in a particular field and improve daily life of both human and animal
