5. Seeing New Perspectives

Lab Rat Chat - Episode 05 with Dr. Rick Born, Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard University and member of Society for Neuroscience
 
Follow us on Twitter! Facebook! Instagram!
https://twitter.com/thelabratchat
https://www.facebook.com/labratchat
https://www.instagram.com/thelabratchat

$100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! Simply rate and review the podcast to be entered to win one of FIVE $100 Amazon gift cards!

In this episode of Lab Rat Chat, Jeff and Danielle's conversation with Dr. Born delves into a variety of topics including amazing medical discoveries and even advances in everyday technology that have come from animal research.  Dr. Born talks about the role of The Society for Neuroscience in promoting responsible animal research as well as their resources to help protect their members facing opposition from animal rights groups.
 
  Topics discussed in this episode:

• Dr. Rick Born’s journey through medical school and beyond, leading to his current position at Harvard University.
• Information on The Society for Neuroscience and their role in advancing science and promoting responsible animal research
• Amazing contributions to medicine and technology attributed to the use of animals in research
• The basics of Dr. Born’s research of the visual system and why this requires the use of non-human primates in order to help us understand vision
• An introduction to our listeners about some of the various levels of extremism researchers have faced from animal rights groups
• Ways the research community can continue to improve in furthering the trust of the public

Notable quotes:

“It’s important for ordinary people to see that scientists are also ordinary people.  We have wives and children, and dogs for pets, and we live in your neighborhood.  We believe that what we’re doing is important and justified and humane.”

 “Again, it goes to show how deep and necessary animal research is to the entire biomedical enterprise, and not limited to humans, but including the benefits that go to our pets as well.”

“All the software that recognizes you when you’re on Facebook, when you post a picture to Facebook…it recognizes you because it’s using algorithms that were directly patterned after what we’ve learned about vision from the Macaque [monkey] visual system.”

Resources & Links:

• The Society for Neuroscience (https://www.sfn.org/)
• Americans for Medical Progress (https://www.amprogress.org/) 
• Come See Our World (https://www.comeseeourworld.org/)
• PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (https://olaw.nih.gov/policies-laws/phs-policy.htm)  
• Animal Welfare Act (https://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/animal-welfare-act) 

All Lab Rat Chat episodes are edited by Audiona