I have worked as a laboratory animal veterinarian for 30 years, both at medical universities, in the pharmaceutical industry and since 2009 at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). I earned my PhD degree at Karolinska Institutet and my degree as associate professor (docent) and professor at SLU. I am European Specialist in Laboratory Animal Medicine (Dipl. ECLAM) with postgraduate training from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and Newcastle University in the UK. Currently I am past president of the European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and president of IACLAM, the International Association of Colleges of Laboratory Animal Medicine, which represents > 1600 veterinary specialists from Europe, USA, Japan, South Korea and India. The purpose of IACLAM is to promote the role of the veterinarian in animal research thereby improve animal welfare and the quality of science.