The workshop "Basic Research Techniques and Practices Involved in Laboratory Animal Research", organised by the Animal Facility and Care Unit at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU), in partnership with the AGU Centre for Community Service, Training, Consultancies and Continuing Education, has concluded. The workshop aimed to train participants on the ethics and techniques of dealing with laboratory animals, presented by a group of academic staff at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The Head of the Animal Unit, Prof Khaled Greish, indicated that this training workshop targeted workers and researchers in the field of applied experimental medical research on laboratory animals in various institutions. He added that the workshop aims to qualify researchers in all aspects of experimental research involving laboratory animals.

Prof Khaled Greish presented a comprehensive training unit on the ethics and rules of humane treatment of laboratory animals, and methods of preparing tumours and injecting them into laboratory animals to measure the effects of their interaction with experimental drugs for cancer treatment.

For his part, Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine, Dr Noureddine Ben Khalaf, explained AGU’s experiments in genetic engineering of laboratory animals to measure the effectiveness of treating many incurable diseases. The Technical Supervisor at the Animal Unit, Mr Amar Marwani, also presented a set of lectures on basic professional skills for conducting tests on animals. Meanwhile, Associate Professor of Physiology at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dr Yahya Naguib, reviewed the modern methods available at the university for studying psychological and neurological diseases, as well as the possibility of experimenting with many new treatment methods. 

It is noteworthy that the Animal Facility and Care Unit established by AGU is the only one of its kind in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The unit aims to qualify interested students and researchers in the region on the basic skills for conducting experimental research on animals, and to enable researchers to conduct pre-clinical medical research. The unit re-offers these training workshops throughout the year.