Abstract
Dr Stian Erichsen, aged 96, passed away on 22 November 2017 in Oslo. He was a veterinarian and was the most important influence in establishing a modern laboratory animal community in Norway and played an important role in the early years of the International Council of Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS).
He graduated from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Medicine in 1950. For the first 10 years he held posts at the School, working in pathology and virology, before taking a post at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He defended his doctoral thesis in 1961.
In the late 1950s he worked in Britain several times and on his return he was responsible for planning and establishing a purpose-built animal facility at the Institute. This was the first of its type in Norway and served as a model for future facilities in the country. He was Chief Veterinarian there for 25 years until his retirement in 1988.
Dr Erichsen had many other roles, especially within ICLAS, starting in 1965 when he became an ICLAS Governing Board member, representing Norway. He served several terms as ICLAS Secretary General beginning in 1969, and later as President for two terms beginning in 1988. Together with Dr C Hopla, he authored a history of ICLAS. He also served as an advisor for Thailand on behalf of the World Health Organization.
Stian worked on the construction of the European Convention for the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific Purposes (ETS 123) and led the committee in the final stages before it was completed in 1986.
For 12 years he served on the National Animal Research Authority, which was responsible for treating applications for animal research in Norway.
In 1969 he published his book Forsøksdyrbiologi (Laboratory animal biology), which is unfortunately no longer in print, but which provided an easy-to-read overview of the major features of the common laboratory animal species.
Stian worked to help his colleagues to continue the development of the Norwegian lab animal community. He was a strong advocate of the 3R principle, which was launched by Russell and Burch at the time when he was in the UK. In Oslo he started lunch meetings at the Institute, which he called Brains Trust meetings, where colleagues could meet and discuss topics of mutual interest. At these meetings several guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were developed, which were in use for many years afterwards.
Stian Erichsen will be fondly missed by the laboratory animal community.