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Pioneering better science: Alternatives to animals
Using new and advanced technologies, scientists today have more ways to study human biology, health and disease without using animals than ever before. A mainstay of the NC3Rs public engagement programme, we are returning to the annual Pint of Science festival this year to showcase the latest innovations in replacement approaches and explore the future of alternatives to animal research.
Join us and NC3Rs-funded scientists working at the University of Bristol to learn about patient-derived organoids for leukaemia research, using fruit flies to investigate human diseases and how these pioneering approaches are replacing animals in research.
Curing leukaemia in the lab
Dr Deepali Pal, Senior Lecturer
Deepali Pal is using patient’s cells to recreate human cancer in a dish. In her search for better, personalised treatments for leukaemia, Deepali is turning stem cells into ‘organoids’ – 3D balls of cells that mimic human tissues. Using these organoids to test anti-cancer drugs in her lab, Deepali has replaced over 2,500 mice in one year. Learn more and hear about her latest cancer research innovation using new 3D bioprinting technology and artificial intelligence.
Find out more about Deepali’s work on an NC3Rs non-animal methods infrastructure award to develop novel bioprinters for 3D in vitro models and her portfolio of NC3Rs-funded research to replace animal models of leukaemia.
How can the fruit fly help tackle human disease?
Dr Helen Weavers, Associate Professor in Cell and Developmental Biology and Dr Katarina Grobicki, Research Associate
Fruit flies have been a cornerstone of biomedical research for over a century and today offer scientists a surprising alternative to some animal studies. Helen Weavers is using these tiny insects to study several human diseases – including lung conditions like cystic fibrosis and COPD, an area of research that currently uses over 7,000 animals a year worldwide. Discover how Helen’s lab uses these Nobel Prize-winning creatures to reveal new insights into human diseases and how flies could even be used to test new drugs.
Learn more about Helen’s NC3Rs studentship where PhD student Beth Sawyer developed a novel Drosophila model of chronic inflammatory lung disease. In her talk Helen is joined by Katy, a postdoctoral researcher studying tissue stress responses using fruit flies.
Other NC3Rs Pint of Science events
Newcastle, Monday 18 May
Scientists at Newcastle University share research to replace animals with 3D bioprinted and donated human tissue.
London (UCL), Wednesday 20 May
Explore work at London universities to replace animals with digital recreations of human brain cells and cell-based models of the human gut.