Name of course:
Animal Pain

ECTS credits:
5 ECTS

Course parameters:
Language: English
Level of course: PhD course but open for others
Time of year: Spring 2020
No. of contact hours/hours in total incl. preparation, assignment(s) or the like: 60/150 hours
Capacity limits: 30 participants

Objectives of the course:
The aim is to give PhD students an overview of the concept of animal pain from a biological perspective.

Learning outcomes and competences:
At the end of the course, the student should:

• Be updated within state-of-the-art of central parts of animal pain biology
• Have theoretical knowledge about the evolution of animal pain, and be able to use this as basis of their own research
• Be able to recognize behavioral and other responses to different types of animal pain (temporally as well as anatomically separated)
• Be educated within the establishment of experimental protocols for the evaluation of pain in animals
  
  

Compulsory programme:
Active participation in residential course Monday to Friday incl. presentation of own project. The final part of the course constitutes written answers to questions from classmates.

Course contents:
The course is based on presentations and lectures by internationally recognized pain researchers and practitioners combined with participants presenting relevant parts of their PhD-projects. Furthermore, the course involves a combination of group work (discussions of classic aspects of pain biology and its interpretation) and plenary discussions.

Prerequisites:
This course targets PhD students and researchers within science, veterinary, agricultural and health sciences working with animals, including animal model studies, experimentation, in zoo and animal parks, and with scientific questions related to pain biology.

Name of lecturers:
The course organizers are:

• Mette S. Herskin, Senior scientist, PhD, Department of Animal Science, AU-FOULUM, Aarhus University, email: MetteS.Herskin@anis.au.dk
• Björn Forkman, Professor, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, email: bjf@sund.ku.dk
  
  

The three invited speakers are: 

• Dr Johnny Roughan, University of Newcastle, United Kingdom:
  How far are we in the quantification of animal pain?
  https://www.ncl.ac.uk/ion/staff/profile/johnnyroughan.html#background 
• Prof. Cassandra B. Tucker, Tucker LAB, UC Davis, USA:
  Pain and management procedures in cattle
  http://tuckerlab.ucdavis.edu/cassandra-tucker.html# 
• Dr Jennifer Mather, University of Lethbridge, Canada:
  Evolutionary aspects of pain and suffering
  http://directory.uleth.ca/users/mather
  
  

Type of course/teaching methods:
Participants are expected to deliver 150 working hours divided between:

• Course: 60h during 9-13 March 2020, including lectures, participant presentations and group work. At least one excursion will be included.
• Written answers to questions from class-mates to be handed in upon finalization of the course and assessed
• Read the curriculum
  
  

Literature:
Original literature in the form of reviews and papers from international journals, and textbooks on animal pain responses. A list of relevant material will be provided in January 2020.

Course homepage:
http://projects.au.dk/animal-pain/

Course assessment:
Participation in residential course plus evaluation of written answers

Provider:
The course is provided by the Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University, and Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. LoligoSystems has kindly offered to sponsor a travel grant for one of the oversea speakers.

Special comments on this course:
Course participants have to pay direct costs for accommodation etc. Participation during the 5-day course costs 1100 EURO incl. food and accommodation. It is possible to participate in single days at a price of 325 EURO (incl. meals, excl. accommodation).

Time:
9-13 March 2020

Place:
Hotel Frederiksdal, Lyngby, Denmark

Registration:
Opens 1 October 2019, via email to Tina.Albertsen@anis.au.dk. Closes 1 December 2019.

If you have any questions, please contact Senior scientist Mette S. Herskin, e-mail: MetteS.Herskin@anis.au.dk.