Vall d'Hebron Talks by VHIR 'Pain Scoring and Severity Assessment for Ethical Rodent Research'

Speaker : lbert Altafaj Tardío, DVM-  lab. Animal Service Director – Rodent Platform/Preclinical Imaging Platform. Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO)
Animal Facility - Edifici Centre Cellex.

Albert Altafaj is a Veterinarian who graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and is a Specialist in Laboratory Animal Sciences. He completed a Master's Degree in Laboratory Animal Science at the UAB (2007).
Currently, he serves as Director of the Rodent Animal Facility and the Preclinical Imaging Platform of the Vall d'Hebron Campus and is an Advisor on Animal Welfare in accordance with RD 53/2013. In this role, he is in charge of the overall facility management and the coordination of both the Rodent Platform and the Preclinical Imaging Platform. Since January 2023, he has also been an ad hoc Consultant for AAALAC International (American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care).
He has over 20 years of experience in the use of laboratory animal models tailored to the specific needs of each study, the use of imaging techniques for animal experimentation, and the critical analysis of relevant data. Additionally, he has participated as a professor at the University of Barcelona, teaching Experimental Surgery in preclinical models.
Previously, he held leadership roles including:
Director of the animal facility for the company Evotec in Verona, Italy (2016–2020).
Chief Veterinarian and Manager of the animal facility at the Barcelona Science Park (2002–2016).

Preclinical Core Facilities Coordinator - Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca | Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus