3Rs Webinar about Lab Dog by Melanie D. G. Kaplan

3Rs Training Webinar | Conversation & Q&ALab Dog: What One Beagle’s Story Reveals About Animal Research, Ethics, and the Future of Science This 3Rs Training Webinar will feature a live conversation and audience Q&A between Dr. Kathrin Herrmann, host of the CAAT 3Rs Training Webinar Series, and science journalist Melanie D. G. Kaplan, author of Lab Dog. Lab Dog weaves investigative journalism with personal narrative, tracing Kaplan’s journey after adopting Hammy, a former research beagle, and exploring what his life reveals about the use of dogs in biomedical and regulatory research. The book has been reviewed by leading scholars, highlighting its ability to combine personal narrative with rigorous examination of the animal research system. Using Hammy’s story as an entry point, the conversation will examine how animal research is conducted, justified, regulated, and increasingly questioned—particularly in light of growing scientific and ethical momentum toward replacement and non-animal methods. In this conversation-based webinar, Kathrin Herrmann and Melanie Kaplan will explore:- why dogs—especially beagles—are used in research and testing;- how public narratives about animal research are shaped, and often sanitized;- the ethical and emotional dimensions of animal experimentation that are rarely discussed in scientific settings;- what stories like Hammy’s can (and cannot) change about research culture, regulation, and the adoption of non-animal methods. The session will conclude with an open Q&A, inviting participants to engage directly with questions about animal research, transparency, public trust in science, and the role of storytelling in advancing the 3Rs—particularly Replacement.This webinar is relevant for researchers, educators, regulators, students, and anyone interested in animal research ethics, science communication, and the transition toward more humane and human-relevant science. About the speakerMelanie D. G. Kaplan is a longtime independent journalist whose travel and science writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and National Parks magazine. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, a 2021–2022 MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow, and a third-generation Washington, DC, native. Lab Dog is her first book.