Animal Welfare and the Statistical Consultant

Animal welfare considerations and regulations serve to ensure that experimental animals are used wisely while minimizing stress. Substantial impacts on the use of animals in experiments have resulted, thereby increasing the challenges for designing studies and analyzing data to provide valid inferences. Statisticians should become more indispensable for involvement in study design (including Animal Care and Use Committees), application of appropriate analyses, prudent interpretation of results, and the development of new statistical techniques to meet these needs