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New animal research facility Maastricht in existing location

Maastricht University's Executive Board has approved the plan to renew the animal research facility for UM and Maastricht UMC+ at the existing location at Universiteitssingel 50 (UNS50). A new building is therefore off the table. This decision was taken in agreement with the Maastricht UMC+ Executive Board and the Board of the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences. The renovation of the entire building at UNS50 has already begun; the furnishing of the new animal facility will be part of this.

Last year, it became clear that fitting the laboratory for animal research into the existing UNS50 building is possible. The renovation already underway at UNS50 makes it feasible (technically, qualitatively and financially) to apply new techniques, including improved ventilation technology. This means that incorporation into the existing building is possible while maintaining the set of requirements that had been drawn up for a possible new building.

A key advantage of choosing UNS50 is its flexibility. Future adjustments are easier to realise in a building with multiple functions. Biomedical research will continue to require laboratory animals in the coming decades to realise new forms of treatment or diagnostics, hence the plan to invest in a new laboratory for animal research. At the same time, the efforts to reduce the number of animal experiments and test animals continue unabated. Maastricht, as elsewhere, is also committed to alternative, non-animal methods in biomedical research.

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