The IBF is a service institution of the University Heidelberg. Its main task is to house and breed various animal strains according to the needs of the scientists working at the University of Heidelberg and the Heidelberg University Hospital.
The scientific focus lies on disorders of the nervous system, the abdominal organs such as liver, pancreas and kidney, the locomotor system as well as several infectious diseases.Furthermore, scientists dedicated to basic research also benefit from the IBF.
Animal housing as well as experiments performed at the IBF are carried out according to current knowledge about the natural needs of each species.
Another feature of the IBF is the applied animal welfare: in more than 10 courses per year the basics of laboratory science and animal experiments are taught to scientists working with animals for the first time. Methodological specializations take place in the according research laboratories. That is how animal welfare regulations as well as scientific needs are accounted for. Only proceedings in accordance with animal welfare meet the requirements of research.