Wake up babe, the new NIH announcement dropped!
The end of animal-specific funding calls, briefly explained.
Good morning readers,
It was a big week for animal-free research! Let’s get into it.
In today’s newsletter:
💡 One thought: The NIH ended animal-specific funding calls. Now what?
🫠 In other news: Trump proposes more budget cuts as the FDA collapses — but hey, you could adopt a former lab rat.
🐰 NAMs, lately: Europe eliminated the Rabbit Pyrogen Test, and an organ-chip model of ALS made the cover of Cell Stem Cell.
🦠 In the weeds: A massive new cell atlas from Miraomics, Pythia Biosciences, and LatchBio…and tons of biopharma layoffs.
✨ + opportunities, events, and resources!
Wake up babe, the new NIH announcement dropped!
At a workshop on Monday, the NIH announced that they will no longer award funding to new grant proposals that rely solely on animal testing.
Nicole Kleinstreuer, the Acting NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, emphasized that the goal is to create “the policy, infrastructure, and partnerships that make sustainable adoption possible so that we’re not only shutting down animal labs overnight, we’re actually developing long-term solutions that ensure that there are no new animal labs that open up in their place.”
Read more: Endpoints News ($$$) | Drug Discovery & Development | Regulatory Focus | Washington Examiner
+ watch Nicole Kleinstreuer talk to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya about the future of animal models in research.
Of course, NAM advocates rejoiced.
PETA celebrated “another monumental step toward bringing the US into the 21st century of science.”
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said, “This announcement signals more than just a symbolic shift. It marks a structural transformation in how biomedical research is funded and conducted.”
Thomas Hartung, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, called it the “most forceful steps toward human-relevant biomedical research announced by a visionary colleague and friend.”
Emily Trunnell, director of Science Advancement and Outreach at PETA, explained what this actually means:
Historically, the NIH has put out some animal-only funding calls, asking researchers to specifically study, say, HIV in monkeys, or Hepatitis C in mice.
The NIH’s new announcement will end these kinds of funding calls. It won’t end animal experiments more broadly.
For example: while the NIH can no longer specifically ask anyone to study Alzheimer’s disease in monkeys, researchers can still work with primate models of Alzheimer’s disease if they submit a grant application for “studies investigating the neurobiology of neurodegenerative disease.”
That might sound anticlimactic, but it’s still a big deal. The NIH can no longer require animal use as a condition for funding. Hopefully, this knocks down at least one barrier between early-career researchers and NAMs.
In an email, White Coat Waste criticized Kleinstreuer for saying, “We have no intention of just phasing out animal studies overnight. We know that animal studies are still very important and often scientifically justified.”
To be frank, I agree with Kleinstreuer.
In toxicology and drug development, many NAMs are ready for primetime. That’s where I suspect we’ll see the first big effects of these policy changes.
But several fields, including neuroscience and immunology, still rely on living multi-organ systems — i.e., full-blown humans and non-human animals — to meaningfully study complex diseases. Overpromising the readiness of NAMs could leave some fields behind.
To phase out animal models in basic science research — not just drug testing, but the exploratory, not-clearly-translatable labor of figuring out how bodies work — the NIH can’t just pull the plug on animal experiments. They need to invest in infrastructure: support for data sharing, training programs for young scientists, transition funding for labs, and clearer communication across institutions.
I’m optimistic that the NIH just took a big step in the right direction.
Last time, I asked: What do you think NAM advocates should lead with?
57% said saving animals
29% said better science
14% said better human health outcomes
I have another question for you:
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In other news:
Animal research workshops aside, the FDA is…not thriving. Read more: NYT Magazine (gift link) | STAT+ ($$$)
An analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal would slash federal science funding to its lowest level this century. Read more: NYT (gift link)
While the NIH moved to reinstate 900 illegally-cancelled grants, STAT reported that terminated grants are being reinstated almost entirely in blue states.
All new Nature papers will automatically include reviewers’ reports. More transparency in the peer review process could start to reduce — or at least illuminate — biases against papers without animal methods.
The NIH announced their 2025-2030 Strategic Plan for Data Science, which included proposals to improve access to human clinical data, invest in better software, and make it easier to work with datasets across different platforms.
A new review found that Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) rarely search for alternatives to animal use — and when they do, they are inadequate. Committees also aren’t required to consider alternatives to painful procedures at all for animals not covered by the Animal Welfare Act, which notably includes mice and rats.
+ Good news for anyone in the market for a pet rat: EPA staff at a North Carolina research office are trying to rehome thousands of former lab animals.
NAMs, lately:
The European Pharmacopoeia Commission eliminated the Rabbit Pyrogen Test, which typically involves injecting rabbits with drugs to see whether they get a fever. Now, drug developers will have to choose an in vitro test instead.
A new organ-chip spinal cord model of ALS, using patient-derived cells to mimic interactions between blood vessels and the brain, made the cover of Cell Stem Cell.
Commentary:
Commentary on FDA’s shift from animal testing and implications for drug attrition — The time to act is now | Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
The impact of FDA’s animal use shift on the future of preclinical testing | Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News
Neuroscience’s open-data revolution is just getting started | The Transmitter
In the weeds:
Biotech columnist Adam Feuerstein says that the summer biotech vibe “could be better, could be worse.” Read more: STAT+ ($$$)
That said, biopharma layoffs hit an all-time high in May.
As AI continues to push its way into every corner of biopharma, it’s creating friction between tradition and progress. Read more: PharmaVoice
Miraomics, Pythia Biosciences, and LatchBio released a 30 million cell atlas spanning 150 diseases and 200 tissues. Read more: Business Wire | LatchBio
Have something you want to share with this community? As long as it has something to do with alternatives to animal research and is grounded in science, let me know! This could include:
- Press releases and peer-reviewed publications
- Open-source databases and other helpful resources
- Job listings, award applications, and internships
- Conferences, workshops, and meetups
- Calls for manuscripts and pitches
Reply to this email to get in touch. ✨
Easy call to action:
Are you a NAM expert? Add yourself to this expert database!
Opportunities:
HHMI is hiring an Open Science Fellow.
Sci-Illustrate is looking for a brain organoid expert to fill a paid internship role as Content Editor. Email your CV to radhika@sci-illustrate.com.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and InSphero are accepting applications for the 2025 Human Advanced In Vitro Model Initiative (HUMAIN) Award. Deadline (EXTENDED): July 21.
The Regulatory Science Group at the Medical University in Innsbruck, Austria is seeking a 2-year postdoc who’s passionate about replacing animal testing. Deadline: July 23.
NAM Journal, Computational Toxicology, and Toxicology in Vitro are accepting papers on state-of-the-art NAMs for risk assessment. Deadline: December 1.
Mark your calendar:
July 30: 3Rs Training Webinar: EU Roadmap Towards Phasing Out Animal Testing
August 30: International Conference on Alternatives and Simulation in Education, a satellite conference to WC13. Submit an abstract by July 20.
August 31-September 1: WC13 (The World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences) in Rio de Janeiro.
September 14-17: EUROTOX 2025, the 59th Congress of the European Societies of Toxicology in Athens, Greece. Register by August 26.
September 17: The US Department of Defense is hosting Industry Engagement Day as part of their non-animal methods program, Comparing Animal Models and Organoids (CAMO). Reach out to mary.e.zoepfl.civ@mail.mil or dtra.belvoir.rd.list.rd-cb-camo@mail.mil if you’re interested.
September 17-18: APSIS Open Symposium, the annual meeting of scientists focused on advancing the safety of chemical assessment without animal testing, in Athens, Greece. Register by August 1.
October 7-9: RAPS Convergence, the annual meeting of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Register by August 12 for the lowest fee.
October 21-23: American Society for Cellular and Computational Toxicology annual meeting in Maryland. Abstract submissions and travel award applications are due July 30.
October 28-29: Engineered Models of Human Disease, a conference held in Belgrade, Serbia. Submit an abstract and register here.
October 29: Workshop #4 for the Animal-Free Workshop Series for Early-Career Researchers: A NAMs-Focused Literature Searching Approach. Register here.
November 10-12: The Asilomar meeting on the Ethical and Societal Implications of Neural Organoids, Assembloids, and Their Transplantation is accepting applications until July 20.
Need more info? ✨
Check out the NAM Navigator.
Here’s a resource round-up from Alternatives to Laboratory Animals.
There’s also TSAR, a Tracking System for Alternative Methods Towards Regulatory Acceptance. Read more about it here!
Is your research group considering phasing out animals? Check out this replacement checklist by Replacing Animal Research. They also have a guide on how to search for NAMs.
The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing compiled another giant list of resources for us. :)
Missing something? Let me know!
Wishing you a minimally-stressful week ahead,
Celia