“Weck, Worscht un Woi”

Dear colleagues, dear members, and friends of GV-SOLAS,

The corona pandemic has been affecting us for over two years with various restrictions on our personal and social life. The virus has not gone away, but we all try to cope with it daily. This crisis has opened new paths for the digitalization of education, which has been attested by our thriving digital GV-SOLAS conferences in Würzburg and Mannheim in the last two years. However, there is no doubt that we miss direct collegial, personal, and professional exchange. In 2023, our goal is to resume in-person networking to meet colleagues and friends and get to know the current scientific and industry developments. Having said that, I am delighted to invite you to Mainz for the 60^th anniversary of our GV-SOLAS conference.

Our friends of the IGTP are also at a crucial turning point holding their 21^st symposium, leaving aside the denomination of ”adolescent” to become an adult in all aspects of life. Thus, IGTP and GV-SOLAS celebrate their anniversaries together at the “Rheingold-Halle” in Mainz on the Rhine with “Weck, Worscht un Woi.”

As we are all invited to this celebration, contributions in the areas of laboratory animal science, 3R, and animal welfare are welcome. We invite you to share your experiences in implementing the amendments to the Animal Welfare Act and the Animal Welfare Regulation Governing Experimental Animals. We look forward to agreeing on initiatives for a culture of care, refinement, alternative approaches, and management tools to improve our welfare and science. Finally, we will also be delighted to include scientific contributions from other disciplines of experimental research to exciting topics of laboratory animal science; after all, a key question remains: “Why and for what do we still need laboratory animals? “

We will offer lectures, workshops, and discussion groups in all subject areas. In short, an exciting program awaits you in our beautiful city on the Rhine.

I´m looking forward to welcome you to Mainz in September 2023.

Jan Baumgart

conference president