Viral researcher rewarded with animal welfare prize
Jacob Thyrsted Jensen from Aarhus University carries out research into respiratory infections. In his PhD project, he has replaced laboratory animals with an advanced cell model, in the process earning the 3R Award, which is given to PhD students who make a special effort for animal welfare.
As a PhD student at the Department of Biomedicine, Jacob Thyrsted Jensen is aiming to uncover what exactly happens in the cells in the lungs when a person contracts a respiratory infection such as influenza or SARS-CoV-2. Instead of using mice and rats in the research project, Jacob Thyrsted Jensen developed an advanced cell model, which both resembles and functions as the protective cell layer that humans have in their lungs.
He is being rewarded for this with the 3R Prize, which is awarded to PhD students from the Faculty of Health who either replace, reduce or refine the use of animal experiments in their research. The 3R Prize was established by the Faculty of Health at Aarhus University, and the prize is accompanied by DKK 10,000. The three Rs stand for replacement, refinement and reduction.
Contact
PhD student Jacob Thyrsted Jensen
Aarhus University, Department of Biomedicine
Mobile: 29 92 42 23
Email: thyrsted@biomed.au.dk