On May 12 + 13 2022, the 3R-Center Tübingen, on behalf of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts (MWK), organized for the first time the two-day Annual 3R-Conference of the 3R-Network Baden-Württemberg on the topic Replacement, Reduction and Refinement – 3R of animal experiments. With exciting keynote lectures, oral presentations and poster presentations, the event in the Old Anatomy of the Medical Faculty of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen offered plenty of opportunities for the interdisciplinary exchange between 3R-stakeholders from different disciplines and thus represented an important contribution to better networking among Baden-Württemberg researchers as well as to the professional dialogue among each other.

The highlights of this year’s conference were the keynote presentations by three renowned 3R-experts Marcelle Halloway (European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, European Union Reference Laboratory for the Validation of Alternative Methods, EURL ECVAM), Janna Nawroth (Helmholtz Pioneer Campus in Munich) and Andreas Stahl (Department of Nutritional Science & Toxicology at UC Berkeley, USA). Numerous other presentations by members of the 3R-Network Baden-Württemberg as well as other researchers and developers from all over Germany gave visitors the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the topic and exchange ideas with the presenters. In a special session reserved for young scientists, young researchers were also able to present their research work and discuss it with the expert audience. During the two-and-a-half-hour poster session, there was also plenty of opportunities for exchange and networking.

The first 3R-Conference of the 3R-Network Baden-Württemberg was a great success and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all participants who contributed to its success with their contributions.