Have you ever heard of sheep roaming around near the Hwajeong Tiger Dome? Most students would probably doubt it, but believe it or not, Korea University (KU) is full of animals, big and large. They are, in fact, in the experimental labs of different colleges. While animal testing is a controversial issue, it is almost inevitable in the advancement of fields such as life sciences and medicine. The key players in the game are the College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and the College of Medicine, and they seem to be doing animal experiments the right way.

At the College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology...

Located behind the Life Sciences & Biotechnology East Building, an animal lab of approximately 160m² is home to all kinds of animals that science researchers and students use for their research and experiments. They include sheep, goats, and rodents— altogether three hundred of them. The animal lab is particularly famous for its sheep, and the mascot can be even seen from the higher floors of the Hwajeong Tiger Dome.

Professor Son Yong-suk is in charge of the animal lab at the College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology. According to Professor Son, the lab has been breeding sheep since 1985, and he is currently involved in a research project that uses them. “The sheep are used for research on the physiology and metabolism of herbivores and the development of feed for them,” Professor Son explains. Professor Son himself and his graduate students manage the sheep in the lab.

The other animals in the lab, in particular the rodents, are used to test toxicity in foods, as well as for various other experiments such as biochemical experiments, gene-related experiments, and other physiological experiments.

At the College of Medicine...

The College of Medicine, working in association with KU’s Anam Hospital, boasts its research center of experimental animals. Located in the main building of the College of Medicine, the research center consists of facilities including breeding rooms, operating rooms, clinical laboratories, and autopsy rooms.

“We carry out research on developing new drugs and other medicine-related areas,” says Professor Kim Hyun, the executive director of the college’s research center. “The lab facilitates research by helping researchers with their animal research, and that includes conducting clinical research, testing new clinical skills, and even providing education and training on clinical research.” Professor Kim says that the research center is essential for ethical and scientific experiments at KU.

The center opened only last year, but it is to lead KU’s College of Medicine toward a research-oriented medical school that has high global competitiveness. The dean of the College of Medicine at the time of the center’s opening, Professor Han Hee-chul (College of Medicine), described the center as a growth engine for KU. “A research center with state-of-the-art facilities will help us advance into many areas of the globe,” said Professor Han. “It will spur KU’s research and education.”

▲ he College of Medicine has its own center for animal experiments. (Provided by Korea University Medical Center (KUMC))

Animal Rights Are Not Neglected at KU

An act was passed in 2007 that stated that all institutions and organizations with animal labs must have a review board that checks research ethics and bioethics. Thus came into being the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), KU’s own review board that provides guidance so that all lab works are conducted ethically.

The chairperson of the committee, Professor Park Se-ho (College of Medicine), says, “The abuse of experimental animals is destructive for the animals, but distressing for the researchers as well.” The committee, therefore, aims to maintain a balance between producing research results and ensuring the welfare and dignity of experimental animals. KU’s IACUC operates as a service to researchers who conduct animal testing and oversees the management of experimental animals and their facilities. Before conducting animal experiments, researchers must write up and submit a plan to the committee.

Professor Park proposes the rule of three Rs that can better the welfare of the animals and enhance the research results. The three Rs stand for replacement, reduction, and refinement—that is, replacing animal testing with other viable testing when possible, reducing the number of animals used for testing, and refining the testing procedures to minimize the pain involved.

Of the top-ranked universities, Korea University's research capabilities are laudable. The number of research papers is about 0.9 per each researcher— KU ranks the highest among all Korean universities. In particular, the scientific research program of KU is highly acclaimed. The high research capabilities of KU can be attributed to the well-established facilities at the College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, and bioethics is ensured by IACUC. These three institutions will bring about KU’s primacy in the sciences.