Reducing Laboratory Animal Use in Education with XR & Digital Plastination

Welcome to the third webinar of the Webinar serie entitled : Alternatives and Simulation in Education.

"Reducing Laboratory Animal Use in Education through XR and Digital Plastination: The AvatarZoo Initiative"

Understanding anatomy requires grasping complex 3D spatial relationships that are difficult to convey through traditional 2D images. In this webinar, we present how extended reality (XR) technologies and digitally reconstructed plastinates developed within the AvatarZoo (www.avatarzoo.org) programme at Utrecht University offer new ways to teach anatomy with reduced dependence on physical animal specimens. This approach combines headset-based XR environments, web-based 3D viewers, and high-fidelity digital reconstructions, allowing students to explore structures interactively, rotate and isolate layers, and form accurate spatial mental models. We will also discuss emerging evidence from the AvatarZoo programme showing how immersive 3D learning supports understanding, engagement, and retention, and how the integration of XR with digital plastination is making anatomy education more humane, scalable, and innovative.

Guest speakers:

Beerend Hierck, Assistant Professor, Clinical Sciences (Anatomy and Physiology), Veterinary medicine Faculty, Utrecht University 
Noemi Passarello, Postdoctoral Researcher, Clinical Sciences (Anatomy and Physiology), Veterinary medicine Faculty, Utrecht University 
Bart van Rossum, Research Assistant, Clinical Sciences (Anatomy and Physiology), Veterinary medicine Faculty, Utrecht University

The webinar serie on Alternatives and Simulation in Education is an initiative co-organized by the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), the International Network for Humane Education (InterNICHE) & the Ombion Centre for Animal-free Biomedical Translation

Tue, Jan 13, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris

We look forward to meet you!