The Veterinary Bioscience Institute's Dr. Szczepan Baran a Guest on Mendelspod.

Online, January 20, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Dr. Szczepan Baran, President of the Veterinary Bioscience Institute at the Piedmont Triad Research Park in Winston Salem, North Carolina, was a guest on the popular website and podcast Mendelspod on January 10th, 2013. This podcast is available on-demand.

Some of the topics discussed include globalizing laboratory animal welfare, the difficulties laboratory animal professionals face in the eyes of the public, and how proper education for the laboratory animal community can have profound positive results on research and animal welfare.

The Veterinary Bioscience Institute (VBI) is committed to promoting the 3R's of research, which are replacement, reduction and refinement. Specifically, VBI aims to replace larger species in research, like dogs and cats, by utilizing rodents for procedures that are best suited for laparoscopy or colonoscopic procedures. VBI has translated laparoscopy and colonoscopy to rodents and published their work on its many applications. VBI focuses on education and how improving surgical outcomes through improved techniques lessens the numbers of animals needed in research (reduction), and VBI utilizes novel and validated techniques to refine surgical procedures leading to improved surgical outcomes, improved animal welfare and a reduction of the numbers of animals needed for research.

"We are extremely proud of all that Dr. Szczepan Baran has done for the Laboratory Animal Medicine and Surgery Community," states Elizabeth Johnson, CEO of the Veterinary Bioscience Institute. "He is incredibly passionate about his work and making sure that not only is there an uncompromising improvement in animal welfare, but that improvement actually creates better research data."

The Veterinary Bioscience Institute is the leading provider of on-line and on-site continuing education and training for the Life Sciences Community. Their staff consists of veterinarians, most of whom have multiple post-doctoral degrees and are board certified in various areas of veterinary medicine. They are located at the Piedmont Triad Research Park in Winston Salem, North Carolina.