Paul McKellips, executive vice president for the Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR), discussed public opinion on the use of animals in research in a presentation Oct. 6 in the University of Washington (UW) Health Sciences Building.
McKellips’ multimedia presentation was designed for researchers, animal care personnel, security and facilities staff, and public affairs directors. Staff, faculty and students from the Washington National Primate Research Center, the UW Office of Animal Welfare, the UW Department of Comparative Medicine and other departments attended the presentation.
McKellips covered the following topics:
- Current public opinion of animal research, including a demographic breakdown of support and opposition in terms of gender, age, political affiliation and region.
- Tactics and agendas of animal rights groups.
- Goals of the extreme animal rights movement.
The interactive presentation was part of the “Research Saves” campaign, FBR’s effort to mobilize the research community across the country to improve public support for responsible and humane animal research.
The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research worked with FBR to organize a series of “Research Saves” presentations in early October throughout the Pacific Northwest. McKellips also spoke at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, the Institute for Systems Biology, Washington State University, Western Washington University and the University of Idaho.
McKellips joined FBR in 2007. He has 25 years of experience in the motion picture and television industry, and worked as a journalist in Washington D.C. and Iraq.