Patrizia Costa, directs the Laboratory animal resource center at SPR. She received her degree in Biological Science from the University La Sapienza and specialization in the laboratory of Animal science at the University of Milan "la Statale". She was associated with, chronologically, Italian National health institute, National research Council, Enimont, and IRBM (Merck Research Laboratories) where she directed from 1990 to 2002 the centralized animal facility and the animal care and use program. She has experience with facility management, facility planning, occupational health and safety, biocontainements, education and training, international law regulation, bioethics, 3R’s, animal care and use program welfare in GM animals and regulatory affairs. She has served on a number of national and international committees and organizations including founding member of AISAL (FELASA constituent) and IPAM http://www.ipamitalia.it/ Italian Platform for alternatives methods (ECOPA constituent http://www.ecopa.eu ), Board member of teaching and training FELASA  accreditation board http://www.felasa.eu/Accreditation.htm  and Council Accreditation member of AAALAC international http://www.aaalac.org. She is  lecturing professor of Laboratory of animal science at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”  and at the University of Milan “la Statale”. She serves European Commission as  scientific member, and national and international and governative institutions as ethical committee’s member. She is a selected expert of EFSA http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_home.htm  (European Food and Safety Authority) as scientific member of the AHAW (Animal Health Animal Welfare) panel.