AAVS News
SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
September 2025 Newsletter
$400,000 Awarded for Animal-Free Biomedical Research
AAVS is excited to announce that the Alternatives Research & Development Foundation (ARDF), our affiliate, recently awarded $400,000 in grants to support innovative new methods to reduce or replace animals in research and testing. ARDF has provided over $5.3 million to projects advancing alternatives since 1993.
Several projects focus on developing models to study human health and disease. At Michigan State University, scientists are using human-based heart organoids to study whether certain medications might cause congenital heart defects, while researchers at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are developing a human-based model to study potential links between olfactory dysfunction and neurodegenerative diseases. Two projects at Johns Hopkins University will use organoids to study brain development and learning, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, researchers will use human lung tissue to study pulmonary fibrosis.
Other projects aim to improve drug development without animals. At Uppsala University in Sweden, scientists are studying growth conditions for cells used in pharmaceutical testing that do not use fetal bovine serum, which is collected from the fetuses of slaughtered cows. At the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia in Spain, researchers will use a neuroblastoma-on-a-chip model to monitor tumors and examine drug efficacy for treating pediatric cancers. At the University of Arizona, scientists will develop a model to study how a new method of focused ultrasound delivers medications to targeted locations in the brain, with the hope of new treatments for neurological diseases.
“This year’s awards highlight the value of applying alternative methods in exciting and promising research areas,” said ARDF President Sue Leary. “I have seen stunning progress in this field and have no doubt that our support of new non-animal, human-relevant approaches is contributing to advances in biomedical research.”
Other News
Dissection Choice in Delaware!
Delaware has become the 23rd state to give students from kindergarten through high school the right to opt out of animal dissections. In its science safety manual, the state’s Department of Education says that animal dissection is “strongly discouraged” and that “virtual dissection is strongly encouraged.” As we celebrate Animalearn’s 35th year, we commend Delaware’s decision to give students choice, which increases progress for humane science education.
NIH Launches Center for Alternatives
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched its Standardized Organoid Modeling Center, which will develop standardized methods to create and use organoids in research. A promising alternative to animal models, these organoids will be made using human cells to mimic the structure and function of human organs. The NIH has awarded contracts totaling $87 million for these projects over the next three years.
Sanctuary Moment
Equine Advocates
Angie is a sweet horse who was born at Equine Advocates in 2004. Her mom was in foal with her when she was rescued from slaughter along with 45 other mares who were used to collect PMU (Pregnant Mares’ Urine), an ingredient in some hormone replacement therapies. Mares on PMU farms are forced to produce foals repeatedly to ensure their urine is concentrated with estrogens. They spend months confined in small stalls where tubes collect their urine, and their foals are usually discarded. They are innocent victims of an industry that puts profits over compassion, despite the availability of alternative treatments that don’t harm horses.
Thankfully, Angie escaped the cruel nightmare that her mom was forced to endure. Beautiful inside and out, Angie now lives with other mares in the Glamour Girls pasture.
A longtime Sanctuary Fund grant recipient, Equine Advocates does a great job on social media sharing what’s happening on the farm and the horses, mules, donkeys, and other animals living there. They also post interesting videos about equine care, so be sure to check them out!