| dc.description.abstract | Preclinical science research focuses on the study of physiological systems regulating body functions,
and how they are dysregulated in disease, in a non-human setting. For example, cells in a dish,
computer simulations or animals. Scientific procedures traditionally involve a specialist scientist
developing a hypothesis and subsequently testing it using an experimental set-up. The results are then
disseminated to the wider scientific community, following peer review and only at the last stage the
news will reach the general, lay public. In the last few years, some research funding institutions have
promoted a different model, with the direct involvement of members of the public in the research cocreation,
from the hypothesis development, to the grant revision, project monitoring and results
communication. We personally experienced this model and brought it to a further level by producing
a movie. Animal research is a very controversial topic as, while still being necessary for the
investigation of body functions, it brings about issues related to the ethics, the regulation and the
practical execution of experimental procedures on animals. Here we discuss the different stages of
the ideation, production and outcomes of the movie ‘Of Mice and Dementia’, a filmed conversation
on animal experimentation in dementia research. The conversation was between scientists and lay
people with a direct experience of dementia. | en_GB |
