Abstract
At the end of 2016, Janet Rogers, Deputy Editor of Laboratory Animals, has resigned. We thank her for all the work she has accomplished in overseeing the review process and in handling manuscripts, and wish her all the best in her career in the laboratory animal sciences.
In March 2017, Paulin Jirkof was appointed as Deputy Editor and has joined the team of editors. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome her and to introduce her to the readership of Laboratory Animals.
Paulin Jirkof
Paulin Jirkof studied biology with a focus on zoology and wild life biology at the Georg-August University, in Göttingen, Germany. During her studies, she worked with several species of wild and domesticated rodents.
She obtained her PhD in Neuroscience at the Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland, and attended the international PhD program offered by the Zurich Neuroscience Center.
Currently, she is a junior group leader at the Division for Surgical Research, University Hospital Zurich. Her scientific field of interest is in the evaluation of severity assessment tools and the reliable assessment of pain in laboratory rodents. She has authored many publications on the refinement of anesthesia and analgesia protocols to ensure scientific quality and animal welfare in animal-based research. Furthermore, her interests lie also in the non-pharmacological improvement of animal well-being involving refined post-surgical protocols and experimental housing conditions.
She is an active member of the German Society of Laboratory Animal Science (GV–SOLAS) and is involved in the committee on laboratory animal housing. Since 2013, she has been certified as an expert for laboratory animal science by GV–SOLAS.
She has lectured on pain assessment, analgesia, surgery, and refinement techniques at the Veterinary Faculty, University of Zurich for several years, and recently started lecturing at RWTH, Aachen, Germany.
Paulin Jirkof is strongly committed to improving animal welfare in animal-based research, and is also involved in promoting an interdisciplinary dialogue on humane animal use.