Lush Training Prize 2013

Background Paper

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 20131

1 Executive Summary
The category of Training and Education within the Lush Prize focuses on rewarding
individuals and organisations whose work involves training others, whether they areresearchers, budding researchers, children or regulators, in non-animal methods.
Many established scientists may not have been trained in alternative methods ormight not even be aware of them, while future scientists and students need to beprovided with education in alternatives in order to be able to pursue further researchin this area. Establishing training programmes and increasing capacity, whether as
one-off workshops or ongoing programmes, can make a huge difference to this field.
This prize recognises the importance of dissemination of methods amongcommercial scientists, researchers and students and seeks to reward individuals,
teams or organisations who have excelled in this area.

1.1 Definition of training
Following last year’s initial in-depth report, it was established that the definition oftraining could be interpreted in a number of ways. It was decided to take a verybroad view with the criteria and definition of training and to include a number of
elements, including training existing scientists in new techniques, open-source
databases, and the education of school children. 1 This year’s prize has taken asimilarly broad view, given the importance of all aspects of training and education,and following a discussion with a number of people about where resources should
be concentrated.

1.2 Areas included in the researchThis year’s research paper included a look at most of the organisations included
within last year’s paper – including those nominated and rewarded. Additionalorganisations, particularly those focusing on resources and education for school
children, were also included as well as some one-off workshops. Altogether, theresearch included a look at organisations and initiatives involved in the following:training organisations and programmes, databases, toolboxes, lending libraries,
search guides and other web-based resources, short courses, teaching centres,
industry collaborations, organisations specialising in in vitro methods, societies andfunders of animal alternatives. Given that last year’s paper was very thorough, thisyear’s paper focused on any progress, new initiatives or courses occurring over the
past twelve months or planned for the near future. It also explored some of thebarriers that might be facing those seeking to provide training and education on
alternative methods.
Despite the emphasis of the Lush Prize on rewarding organisations working solely
within a replacement framework, organisations fitting the general broad definition of
1 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 20132

training and education but operating under a more general 3Rs framework are still
mentioned and included within this research in order to provide the wider picture andfor a more complete and accurate representation of the training landscape.

1.3 Outstanding projects
As with last year’s research paper, this paper applied a ‘replacement only’ filter for
any outstanding projects, in line with the replacement focus of the Lush Prize. It alsofiltered out last year’s two winners, although they continue to do outstanding work, toallow other organisations to be rewarded for their work too. The following twoorganisations stood out during 2013:•

Alexandra Project, Monaco (Alternatives to Experiments on Animals Designed
to Research Applications)•

Doctors Against Animal Experiments, Germany

1.4 Conclusion
It is clear from the primary and secondary research that the demand for training in
non-animal alternatives has increased over the past twelve months and is only likely
to increase further. While there are some new initiatives and collaborations, it isequally clear that existing training providers and initiatives are struggling to keep up
with demand.
Funding for training, both commercial and non-commercial, is clearly an issue andmay also not be rising with the demand. Sending scientists across the world is an
expensive process, and the laboratory equipment and space may also be costly. Add
to that the fact that some countries may just have limited funds for training. As aresult, funds may need to be raised from commercial sponsors or charity donors.
Work by the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS) in China, for example, was fundedfrom a donation by PETA while InterNICHE’s work was funded by various antivivisection charities. InterNICHE’s website points out that further funding for its
programmes in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Iran is needed. It points to the costs offlights and the purchase, duplication or translation of alternatives required to directly
replace animal use, as well as just the core costs of running its operations. 2
Sending educators into schools is also not a financially profitable exercise and thecosts for this must come from donors or monies raised. Training and education on
alternatives within higher education institutions continues to be a tiny percentage ofcurricula, and this is likely to be the case across disciplines and in countries
worldwide. The availability of alternatives training within an educational institution is
likely to be influenced by the individual personnel within the institution rather than beoffered as standard.
Education at all levels continues to be essential in changing the landscape for nonanimal alternatives – from budding scientists being aware of alternative methods and2 InterNICHE news piece, 18/3/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 20133

being offered a choice not to dissect in high school, through to regulators approving
animal tests who may not be aware of the validity of non-animal alternatives, and toscientists across the world in countries such as China and Russia, where non-animal
testing is a relatively new area. An increase in capacity within those countries, aswell as in countries where non-animal testing is more standard can only save moreanimals’ lives. Pioneering work by the Alexandra Project highlights the importance ofdata sharing – not just of methods, but of technology too. 3-D tissue models areoften protected by patents and these patents belong to just a handful of companies. 3
More Open Source technologies could advance research much further, and thus
training in their production and application could ultimately result in a radical
reduction of the number of animals used worldwide. 4 Finally, initiatives which aretraining people to train others are essential if knowledge is to be disseminated on awider scale.

2 Methodology
Last year’s paper for the Training and Education category of the inaugural Lush Prize
took a very broad view to explore what Training and Education could include. A
range of training organisations, programmes, databases, toolboxes, courses (shortand long), and collaborations were all deemed worthy of inclusion under thiscategory. As a result, last year’s short-list included organisations working on
education in alternatives in universities, training in non-animal in vitro methods forcommercial organisations, a data sharing initiative and a toolbox which specificallylooked at chemical testing. For this year’s paper, we have revisited 2012 nominees
to see what developments have taken place, and cast the net further, to identify
additional projects or organisations and track any progress in this area.
A number of key individuals were contacted in order to gain some primary research.
Some interviews were conducted over Skype or the telephone, others by email. A
majority of information was gleaned from major websites providing news andinformation in this area as well as organisational websites.
Last year’s paper went into a great deal of depth around the definition and criteria of
training, so this will not be repeated in such detail here. Instead, the focus has beenon any progress, new initiatives, increase in demand, and on emerging markets. It
has also tried to ascertain whether any particular area of training should beprioritised if resources are limited.

2.1 Summary of last year’s paper
Last year’s paper discussed extensively what should be included within the categoryof training and education. It reported that much of the training found appeared to be“quite ad hoc, such as one-off training days, or booklets on alternatives” and that

3 Conversation with Dr Bart De Wever, from Alexandra Project 31/7/2013
4 Conversation with Dr Bart De Wever, from Alexandra Project 31/7/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 20134

“training in non-animal methods is a much neglected area in general”. 5 The paper
concluded that “a much more comprehensive, systematic approach to encouraging
the use of existing non-animal methods is required, in toxicology and beyond – fromclassrooms through universities to the commercial testing laboratories themselves. It
would seem that in this area, with quite simply better communication, many animals'
lives could be saved.”6 The research found very few projects or organisations
focusing on “hands-on training” but came up with some outstanding projects, two of
which went on to win the prize last year – InterNICHE and the Institute of In Vitro
Sciences (IIVS).
The paper conducted a thorough literature review, and talked to experts anddiscussed the issues around training and education. The main conclusions are listed
below:•

An emphasis on teaching on alternative approaches rather than alternative
methods is important within academia, including educating students on how tofind alternative methods as appropriate so that every researcher knows about
relevant alternatives. This particularly important because the pace of newtechnologies coming to market means that it’s difficult to teach any specificapproach. It’s also important within general science training to include
education about the scientific limitations of an animal approach.

•

Teaching of alternative approaches is necessary at many places within
education and within many curricula.

•

Education and training also needs to include keeping scientists and regulators
updated in the development of knowledge and techniques.

•

Several duplications of on-line resources exist, while the “actual work
conducting practical hands-on training to implement non-animal methods
appears to be left at present down to the hard work of motivated non-profit
organisations”.7•

A much more comprehensive, systematic approach to encouraging the use ofexisting non-animal methods is required in toxicology and beyond – fromclassrooms, through universities to the commercial testing laboratories
themselves.8

3 2013 Consultation

5 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012
6 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012
7 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012
8 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 20135

3.1 Increase in Demand
A survey conducted during 2012, by the European Commission’s Joint ResearchCentre (JRC) reported that “training needs on the use of alternative methods in
predictive toxicology... are expected to evolve rapidly”. 9 Training organisations are
already seeing an increase in demand. According to Erin Hill, from Institute of In Vitro
Sciences (IIVS), one of the joint-prize winners from last year, demand for theorganisation’s training in in vitro methods has escalated over the past twelve months.
“It’s a phenomenal amount of requests” says Hill. “It started out a couple of years
ago fairly modestly, with a group of scientists, say from China, and that group would
consist of a couple of regulators, a couple of people within different sections of acountry” she explains. “Then, each of them would respond with more requests fortraining in their area, so there’s now this exponential request for training all over theworld”.10 In response, IIVS has started initiatives with different organisations
includingNGOs, who are all receiving requests for training. “Over the last year, we’veseen requests to get involved in Korea, Vietnam, and Russia is also back on thefront burner again”. Within China, an area where training had already occurred, IIVS
has also seen demand for training increase. “We’re seeing demand expanding withina country as well as new countries asking for training.” 11
Dr Marcel Leist, Dorenkamp-Zbinden Chair at the University of Konstanz, agrees
that there is a growing interest in new methods, and that interest is growing at a very
high speed for a number of reasons. “Not necessarily for animal protection or ethicalreasons, but people are realising that these methods are also a way to save money,
time or get better data and to get more reproducible data” he says. 12
According to Anna Maria Bassi from The Analysis and Research Laboratory of
Pathophysiology (LARF), her courses in Italy are consistently oversubscribed, with
unlucky participants asking to be registered on future courses to secure a place. 13 A
training course at the EUSAAT 2013 conference only has limited places (24) for thesecond, practical, day.14 If training workshops such as these only run as one-offs or a
couple of times a year, they clearly cannot reach the sheer numbers of scientists andregulators who would need them in order to make huge leaps in this field.
JRC’s survey concluded that there was a need for “increased attention to be paid tothe development of well-targeted training activities and media that support the use
and implementation of alternative methods”. 15
Clearly, while a rise in demand is a good thing, organisations and courses need to beable to meet this demand, and this is looking increasingly difficult when only a limited
number of organisations are offering training and education in alternative methods.
9 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 2012
10 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013
11 Conversation with Erin Hill 16/7/2013
12 Conversation with Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013
13 Email from Anna Maria Bassi, 20/7/2013
14 EUSAAT
15 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 2012

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 20136

3.2 Main obstacles to training and education
One of the challenges with the emerging markets for non-animal testing is the lack of
capacity within countries. This is something that IIVS is trying to change within China– although that seems to still be a long way off. “We’ve toyed with the concept ofsetting up training facilitators or permanent training facilities within China and then as
methods are approved, we can train a set of individuals and then they can go off andtrain other scientists within China. That’s probably the most efficient way to do it.
Otherwise, our staff would be travelling to China once a month”. 16 Capacity building
is clearly much needed across these markets. According to Hill, there aren’t really
any in-country training organisations emerging in many countries. “Not really, not inany sustained way”, she says. “It’s not to say that they don’t exist, but I don’t know ofany”.17 Research across the internet and other conversations have also not yieldedmuch information about in-country training in the emerging markets of Brazil, India,
Russia and China.
Hill emphasises that just because the EU has legislation around animal testing, it
does not mean that education and training is any less important in EU countries.
“The same problems exist – new labs need to be trained and the publically available
OECD guidelines don’t really provide enough information to become proficient”. 18
She points out the reference laboratories identified by the European Commission as
an important step as these will act as experts within each country and help train
different scientists. The 2012 survey on training needs conducted by JRC asked
experts in regulatory agencies, industry, national research organisations, NGOs andconsultations about training needs and concluded that “the development of welltargeted and tailor-made training opportunities that inform about the usefulness ofalternative methods...deserves more attention”. 19 Respondents also pointed to thedifferent ways that such training could be delivered, including “regular training
events, workshops, lectures and laboratory visits, but also IT-supported options,such as webinars and video learning modules”.20 Clearly, there is still a need forincreased focus on training and education within Europe, as well as further afield.
Hill explains that the obstacles to in-country training vary between countries. “Wehave seen some common themes and they include a lack of education and a lack ofexperience with the new methods”.21 So, although a test method may be included
within test guidelines, there is not the detail included for a contract laboratory,
regulator or scientist to just start using it straight away. This was also raised in the2012 survey, which found that training topics identified by the experts contacted
included “guidance for applying alternative testing methods”. 22 Erin Hill says that theguidance itself is not enough and that “it’s the practical training, the hands-on training
16 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013
17 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013
18 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013
19 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 201220 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 201221 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013
22 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 2012

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 20137

that’s really missing”.23 The survey also found that although general information formany of the topics surrounding alternative methods were available and accessible,“this information may still be too fragmented and dispersed”. 24 Analysis of the survey
indicated that “though stakeholders addressed a range of different alternative
methods, we observed a preference for training on the use of in silico approaches
and in vitro methods”.25
According to Dr Bart De Wever (ALEXANDRA), there are further issues complicating
the advancement of alternatives to certain animal tests. For example, in Brazil, “dueto legal procedures required by local customs, it is not possible to import thesemodels (from France or the USA) in timely and ideal conditions in order to be used in
Brazilian laboratories without losing their validity”. 26 This means that training
scientists there on the use of this particular method may not be enough unless they
are able to create the models themselves - something which the Alexandra
Association has begun to do.27
While hands-on training is the area which the Alexandra Association and IIVS focus
on, Dr Leist believes that to some extent, it’s not as high priority as just spreading theknowledge about replacements to animal tests, even though it’s “nice to have some
practical experience”.28 “Such practical training is expensive” he says andemphasises that training without practical experience is still important, worthwhileand of high interest to people.29
Another obstacle to training and education is money – both the costs of runningtraining and the funding to pay for it. Lack of money can definitely be an obstacle forcountries and for organisations, explains Erin Hill, whether it’s for infrastructure or forlaboratory space. Helmut Appl from The European Society for Alternatives to Animal
Testing (EUSAAT), says that previous EUSAAT conferences have not offered
training due to the costs involved in delivering such workshops. As well as thepotentially costly infrastructure and equipment, there are additional costs such as
venue hire which are associated with any types of training. 30 Added to that, is the factthat many people requiring such training (such as student scientists and young
researchers) may not have the funds to pay for additional courses and therefore theworkshops need to be offered for low or no fees, particularly practical courses which
are more expensive. Practical training at The Analysis and Research Laboratory of
Pathophysiology (LARF) has been subsidised by a sponsor so that it is the fees are
kept extremely low (60 Euros for two days). The two-day training at EUSAAT has
been funded by Zet and AcrossBarriers, and has been specifically planned so that no
expensive infrastructure is required and the additional costs of venue hire are
saved.31
23 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013
24 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 201225 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 201226 Tridskin
27 Conversation with Bart De Wever 31/7/2013
28 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013
29 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013
30 Email correspondence with Helmut Appl 5/8/2013
31 Email correspondence with Helmut Appl 5/8/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 2013

8

Where trainers and educators are not available in-country, flying over organisations
such as InterNICHE or IIVS to deliver such training can be difficult to finance. Muchof the training taking place in the emerging markets of China, Russia and othercountries has been funded by charities and campaign groups such as PETA, AntiVivisection Union in Australia, and Humane Society International. It is of concern that
it was PETA who put up funds for training in China, rather than the cosmetics
companies (who had been “secretly paying for Chinese officials to test their products
on animals”) because they had not themselves provided the training in the use of the
non-animal methods.32
According to Dr Candida Nastrucci, President of the newly funded NGO
TheAlternatives.eu, lecturer in courses on alternative methods and researchscientist, “the main barrier for scientists who believe that better science means using
alternatives to animals is to find funding to create courses.” 33 She says that funding
for teaching and developing alternatives is very limited. Ideally, a training laboratory
should be set up with materials and instruments “to be able to show students thedifferent methods, how to use them, in order to apply them to their particularscientific problem. The more the students would be able to be stimulated to think
about new ways to answer scientific questions, the more chances there are that thealternatives to animal experiments will be used and implemented” she says. “Italy iswell behind the UK and other EU countries in funding and training on alternatives”
and is a “real problem that is actually stopping the progress of research.” 34
Dr Bart De Wever concurs, explaining that funding to run training is limited. Hisorganisation has now employed a fundraiser specifically to try and attract funds forthe organisation to continue its work. “Our work in schools has to be paid for bysomeone” he points out “and we’re a non-profit organisation”. While theorganisation’s training for other professionals might be funded by organisations, it isexpensive to run, “and scientists in less developed countries may not have theresources to pay”.35

3.3 Where should training and education resources focus?
Hill and others agree that methods need to be introduced earlier in the educational
system. “In the US, when you’re training for your board exam in toxicology, I don’t
believe they discuss much about in vitro methods. They’re also not discussed within
toxicology programmes at the PhD level... I think that if we start to make themmainstream at the university level, then the adoption will be much easier. Scientists
learn about the animal model early in their career, and we need to insert concepts ofin vitro methods at the same time,” she says. 36
According to Dr Marcel Leist, whether you would have education about in vitro
methods at university varies between establishments and will depend very much on
the staff within a university. “Sometimes it happens early, sometimes it doesn’t. So in
32 PETA news release 7/11/2012
33 Email correspondence with Dr Candida Nastrucci 1/8/2013
34 Email correspondence with Dr Candida Nastrucci 1/8/2013
35 Telephone conversation with Dr Bart De Wever 31/7/2013
36 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 20139

our university, it is included early on in curricula, for instance for biologists, but this isbecause [of] my professorship, which is part of the curriculum. However, in most
universities, there is no such background”.37 He points to the importance of
education about non-animal methods for biology, for veterinary medicine and for
medicine “because these are the big fields for animal use and often they’re not at allaware of the alternatives, especially in medicine”. 38 Dr Candida Nastrucci reported
that during her various studies – at undergraduate, masters and PhD level, very
limited information about alternatives was included. “This was true at the time of mystudies, which began in 1992 in the UK, and it is still true now all across Europe” shesays.39 This may partly be down to a resistance of existing lecturers and scientists toadmit they are using the wrong model, says Anna Maria Bassi. “Many colleagues,
experts in drug development and toxicology in vivo, do not even want to hear thescientific and ethical questions about alternative models, considering them as notcredible”. She argues that they can tend to remain “tightly anchored to the oldmethods since this upgrade takes effort”.40
Dr Nastrucci says that training students to use and develop alternatives is“fundamental” and that “we need to train the scientists of the future, giving as muchinformation on the alternatives as possible, so that they can think of different ways toanswer scientific questions, which are different to what they had always thought
before”. She says that we need to increase funding for such training, and offer
courses on alternatives across all levels “both at graduate and post-graduate level”. 41
Anna Maria Bassi agrees: “I think it’s useful to begin in the early years of the coursesof science studies and always provide updates or basic courses in all post-graduate
courses”.42
Dr Nastrucci points out the need to train those currently involved in education inorder to increase the amount of education available: “We need to train lecturers toteach alternatives at all levels, perhaps with advanced courses on particular areas ofresearch. Usually, scientists specialise in one subject, but alternatives are applicableto many subjects, to different areas of research, from learning about the mode ofaction of drugs to toxicology; from cancer research to brain studies or stem cellresearch”.43 She believes that we need to targets scientists, students, lecturers andheads of university departments so that all subjects could start including within theirstudy programs a course on alternatives. Helmut Appl agrees that “within the ‘regulareducation’ at universities, very often you still do not get as much information aboutsuch models as needed”.44
A 2011 survey in Germany found that “studying without animal use is nearly
impossible” when studying biology, human medicine or veterinary medicine inGermany” despite the fact that there are alternative teaching materials available and
37 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013
38 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013
39 Email correspondence with Dr Candida Nastrucci 1/8/2013
40 Email from Anna Maria Bassi, 20/7/2013
41 Email correspondence with Dr Candida Nastrucci 1/8/2013
42 Email from Anna Maria Bassi, 20/7/2013
43 Email correspondence with Dr Candida Nastrucci 1/8/2013
44 Email correspondence with Helmut Appl 5/8/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201310

legislation which stipulates that they should be used preferentially. 45 SATIS (Projectfor Humane Education of People for Animal Rights Germany) said, “Other EU
countries, such as Italy, Sweden or the Netherlands are far ahead of Germany.
Conscientious objection is regulated by laws or policies and ethical alternatives arepromoted. This is important, because our society expects scientists and especially
medical professions to act ethically. This foundation is already laid during training”,
says biologist Astrid Schmidt, project leader of SATIS. 46
Dr Leist agrees that replacement methods need to be taught across the board – atdifferent levels and for different specialisms. Currently, they are more likely to betaught within toxicology. The JRC research paper concluded that there need to be“specific educational programmes on systems toxicology... in order to effectively
prepare and support the next generation of researchers and risk assessors”. 47
However, if toxicology is not someone’s main subject and only a side subject forthem, or they’re more involved in biomedical research, it’s less likely to be included
within someone’s education. “It would be good to have non-animal alternatives
included in the normal curricula and also to be clear that it’s a scientifically importantand exciting topic which has progress” says Dr Leist. He says it’s important toemphasise the science over the moral arguments, and that emphasis should beplaced on the fact that it’s “one of the most dynamic fields, with rapid development
and evolution as well as offering lots of job opportunities”. 48
All agree that resources should not be focused in one area. “We have to offer
solutions today” says Hill, and continues that while education of students and the
public is still important, the organisation chooses to focus its attention on training
scientists on existing methods.49 Anna Maria Bassi agrees that training initiatives
must be focused on both targets,50 as does Dr Bart De Wever, whose organisation istargeting both school children and scientists, educating them on one specific area,
which is the use of 3D tissue models.51
If training only focuses on new scientists and researchers, it will miss out a group ofpeople who are crucial to train, says Dr Leist, and these are more establishedscientists working commercially and within academia, who may never have had
training in new methods. “There’s also many people, for instance at the ECA in
Helsinki (where there are hundreds of people who don’t have a background on this)deciding on these things, but at the time that ECA was built up, there were no
toxicologists on the market. So they hired biochemists, or whomever they could find.
They would benefit a lot from training in this area. And there aren’t many institutions
that are really offering good courses for these kinds of institutions.” 52
45 14.04.11 New: Ethics ranking of German universities, Survey shows studying without animal use is nearly
impossible
46 14.04.11 New: Ethics ranking of German universities, Survey shows studying without animal use is nearly
impossible
47 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 201248 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013
49 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013
50 Email from Anna Maria Bassi, 20/7/2013
51 Conversation with Bart De Wever 31/7/2013
52 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201311

Strategically, industry and authorities are very important to train, he says, as are theregulators. “As long as they don’t know about the methods, they won’t accept them”.
Therefore, he argues “as long as there is not a broad teaching capacity, it’s mostefficient to teach the teachers, to identify key target audiences, like professors inuniversities or people in authorities who can spread the knowledge”. The otherstrategy, he says “is of course to start more broadly with young people and to try andhave this at least in every curriculum of veterinary science”. He explains that this isbecause it’s these students who go on to become responsible for animal
experiments in companies and universities and that they need to know about thealternatives to animal experiments. “They should be able to say, ‘do you need thisexperiment, I have heard that this alternative is available and it’s validated in thisway, would you consider this as an alternative’ but if they don’t know this, then thiswill not happen.”53 The JRC survey respondents also stressed the importance of
training “members from regulatory agencies... and referred to training as a potential
means of improving regulators’ general understanding, and acceptance, ofalternative methods.”
A further barrier mentioned by a couple of the interviewees was that of thedominance in the field by multinational organisations that may not be willing to share
their data or knowledge. Dr Bart De Wever of ALEXANDRA explains that many of thein vitro tissue models are often protected by patents, inhibiting training and researchin this area. “If they’d patented cell culture in the same way” he says “research would
have been stuck”.54 Wever believes that scientists need to share what they know.
However, currently just a few companies dominate. L’Oreal, for example, has justbought two of the biggest companies in this field: EpiSkin and SkinEthic RHE.
“Technology is in the hands of a few big companies, but it should be freely available”,
he says. “It’s all about know-how”.55
Dr Nastrucci also points to the fact that “industry has a real possibility for investing in
the use and development of alternatives, but the information and funding may be
kept within a company” and they are not, therefore, particularly focussed in on
sharing of information and training others.56
Despite this, it should also be noted that a number of initiatives do involve some of
the multinationals who do stand to benefit from the increase in alternatives. The
Industry Council for the Advancement of Regulatory Acceptance of Alternatives(ICARAA), for example, is a new initiative comprised of a number of multinationals,
including Avon Products, BASF SE, Colgate-Palmolive Company and Unilever aswell as IIVS.57 ICARAA’s activities will focus on educational programs including
lectures, demonstrations, hands on training and data interpretation. Chemicalcompany BASF has also provided IIVS with equipment “critical to replacing the useof animals for eye irritation testing of certain chemicals. IIVS will place the units at

53 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013
54 Conversation with Bart De Wever 31/7/2013
55 Conversation with Bart De Wever 31/7/2013
56 Email correspondence with Dr Candida Nastrucci 1/8/2013
57 Press Release, 28/5/2013, IIVS website: www.iivs.org/news-events/press-releases/industry-council-formed-toadvance-regulatory-acceptance-of-non-animal-testing-methods/

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201312

each of its newly developed training laboratories in Xi’an, Beijing, and Guangzhou,
China.” 58

4 Conclusions and recommendations
The research, both primary and secondary, indicates that while the demand fortraining may be increasing worldwide, the resources to train others are not keeping
up. There are still relatively few organisations with the capacity and funding to offer
the level of training and education required to make big shifts. Dr Bart de De Weversays that the area of training in alternatives is a relatively small world. So, although
the individuals involved in this area are passionate and dedicated, they are still
relatively few in number. Applying a ‘replacement-only’ filter to outstanding projects
may prove to be problematic in the long-term because of the relatively smallorganisations and projects operating in this field.

4.1 Outstanding projects
As with last year, the paper applied a ‘replacement only’ filter to any likely
outstanding projects in line with the replacement focus of the Lush Prize. This meansthat though some of the projects and organisations mentioned in the data section of
the report are doing important work to progress this area, they were not included
because they also promote reduction and refinement at the same time.
The following two organisations stood out for a number of reasons.
•Alexandra Association, Monaco (Alternatives to Experiments on Animals
Designed to Research Applications): Chosen for its focus on Open Source
3D tissue skin models (it appears to be the only organisation doing this), andalso for its two-pronged approach to training and education – in schools aswell as in the education of existing scientists and laboratories.

•

Doctors against Animal Experiments: For its Eastern European project,which has had a quantifiable impact on the number of animals used in
educational institutes.

4.2 Conclusion
Demand for training in non-animal alternatives has increased over the past twelve
months and is only likely to increase further. The existing training providers are
struggling to keep up with the demand coming from countries worldwide. As well as
the financial costs of training, there are logistical obstacles as well – flying key
individuals to deliver training back and forth across the world is time consuming andadds further costs to an already costly exercise. In the medium to long term, it makes
58 www.iivs.org/news-events/press-releases/basf-supports-us-non-profit-laboratory-to-promote-non-animaltesting-methods/

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201313

much more sense for key individuals and laboratories within emerging markets to be
trained with the skills and knowledge to be able to train others.
Finding the funds to pay for such training is also still an issue with many training
initiatives funded by various anti-vivisection charities. In today’s current squeezed
economic climate, this may not be sustainable in the long- term and is unlikely tomeet demand if it continues to rise.
Within the education system, money is an issue too. Sending educators into schools
is not a profitable exercise and the costs for this must also come from donations.
Within higher education, training and education on alternatives is still only a tiny
percentage of the curricula, across disciplines and countries. The likelihood ofalternatives courses and training is currently more likely to occur if there are
personnel within a university who will influence this, as can be seen by thedetermination by the Italian scientists and Dr Leist’s influences. What’s needed
worldwide is a dedication to including alternatives within mainstream education, fromscience taught in high schools through to university education and across a range of
disciplines rather than being confined to toxicology.
Education on alternatives is essential not only to increase the number of non-animal
tests taking place commercially and within education, but also to increase thelikelihood of more alternatives methods coming to market to replace animal tests.
Scientists need to be aware of alternative methods in order to choose them whereappropriate, but they also need to be working on developing new methods to replace
the methods where there are no approved alternatives. In countries where nonanimal testing is still relatively new, more education is needed in how to apply
existing methods. PETA’s grant to IIVS for training in China came after it was
revealed that Avon, Mary Kay, and Estee Lauder – companies which had been listed
by PETA as ones which didn’t test cosmetics on animals, had been “secretly paying
for Chinese officials to test their products on animals”. According to PETA, thecompanies had not provided Chinese scientists with training in the use of the nonanimal methods currently used in the US and the European Union. 59
Data sharing is still an issue. The Alexandra Project is dedicated to data sharing
technology and to an open data 3-D tissue model, as many are protected by patents
belonging to a few companies, possibly pricing the models out of the reach of somecountries. More Open Source technologies could be instrumental in advancing
research and ultimately in reducing the number of animals used in laboratory tests
worldwide. Collaboration and data sharing is also crucial to further progress, andalthough there are a number of collaborative initiatives – such as the Industry
Council for the Advancement of Regulatory Acceptance of Alternatives (ICARAA),
there is still scope for further collaboration and co-operation.
Resources for education and training need to focus on different intervention points –on students in schools and universities; on research scientists within both academia
and commercial laboratories; and on those who approve tests and research or are
involved in the regulation of them. There is a clear need for a wide variety of training
topics from general knowledge about alternatives to the use and application on
59 PETA news release 7/11/2012

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201314

various methods, “with a clear focus on the practical use and application ofalternative methods” and which are delivered in a variety of ways including lectures,workshops, laboratory visits, and webinars and video learning modules. 60
However, there is a capacity issue and resources may best be spent focusing on
training others to trainprovide training because of the relatively small numbers ofpeople and organisations currently operating within this area. CAAT Europe’s course
programme aimed at getting people involved in teaching alternatives is one
important initiative in this area.61
From the research, it looks as if you could separate the training and education in thisarea into two categories: Those those run by organisations such as IIVS with somefundraising and financial resources behind them, and those spearheaded byindividuals who have the passion and determination to spread the knowledge, but
who do not necessarily have the financial resources to offer large-scale trainings or
to have a huge impact. If the main criteria set by the judges is to be impact then theformer types of organisation would win the prize every time. However, it’s importantto recognise that the effort and determination of individuals is also crucial in this field.
While they may not have as wide a reach and impact, they are part of a wider
movement and, in many ways, may need the financial resources of a financial prizesuch as the Lush Prize more, in order to fund and continue their work. It should also
be recognised that it’s often these determined and focused individuals who, withwider backing, go on to create and establish organisations that grow and are thenable to make a wider impact. It would seem unfair, therefore, to pitch the two typesof project against each other, and it’s suggested that perhaps the prize could be split
into two, with some financial reward given to individuals (whom it may make a larger
impact on), and some to the larger organisations.
The two types of project could be judged on different merits, with ambition andscalability considered when it comes to individuals’ efforts (and smaller projects).

5 Data section – organisations and initiatives identified in thisareaThis section includes some of the major players identified in this area, some smaller
projects and other training courses or workshops. It includes a majority oforganisations identified in the 2012 research paper, but focusing focuses on any new
or updated information. For this reason, some organisations involved in the area
appearing in 2012’s paper may not reappear in this paper. It also includes someorganisations not identified in the 2012 paper, but who are contributing importantwork in this area.

60 Training Needs for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Survey-informed Analysis, Silvia Lapenna, Silke
Gabbert and Andrew Worth, December 201261 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201315

5.1 News on last year’s nominees

The 2012 inaugural Lush prize category Training and Education nominees were:

5.1.1

Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, UK

For its Summer Studentship Scheme to give students practical lab experience.
www.drhadwentrust.org
In 2013, Dr Hadwen Trust Summer Studentship Awards ran for the second year. The
scheme enables undergraduates to gain practical lab experience using non-animal
approaches during the summer. The award is worth up to £1,440 over a maximum 8
week period, and there is a separate budget for consumables, up to £500. Kailah
Eglington, Chief Executive of Dr Hadwen Trust said of this scheme: “Our Summer
Studentship award is an opportunity to inspire the next generation of research
students”.62
5.1.2

Portuguese Society for Humane Education

For their proposed conference on Alternatives in Portugal.
www.icaae.com
The proposed conference mentioned in last year’s nomination took place in Almada,Portugal on 26th and 27th January 2013. The conference aim was to promote thedebate and sharing of information regarding 3Rs policies on animal use, and also“highlighting the replacement of animal models for suitable and ethical alternatives,
such as in vitro and in silico models, as well as alternative experimental designs”. 63
New England Anti VivisectionAnti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) offered 13 places atthe conference “to students committed to the animal protection and aiming to pursue
a career in alternatives to animal experimentation, testing and use in education andtraining”.64 The website domain ceased to exist after 26/7/2013 so no information
could be found on the success of this conference. The Portuguese Society for
Humane Education was contacted to comment on the success of the conference, but
did not respond.
5.1.3

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), USA

For their work on arranging and funding training on non-animal tests for Chinese
officials.
www.peta.org

62 Dr Hadwen Trust, 26/6/2013, visited 23/7/2013
63 International Conference Of Alternatives to Animal Experimentation
64International Conference Of Alternatives to Animal Experimentation

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During 2013, PETA gave a $33,000 grant to the Institute for In Vitro Sciences fortraining in China on how to use non-animal tests.65 This was a the second grant
given and the training was held at the end of October 2012 for 30 students andfaculty at the Beijing Technical and Business University. During the training,
scientists were educated in the use of the Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability
assay, which replaces the eye irritation test. PETA had awarded this grant following
the discovery at the end of 2011 that a number of cosmetics companies had been
secretly paying for Chinese officials to test their products on animals. The companies
hadn’t provided Chinese scientists with any training on the use of the non-animal
methods which are used elsewhere. “China is now poised to accept its first ever nonanimal test” as a result of IIVS’s initial work”.66
5.1.4

Institute for In Vitro Sciences, USA

For their vital work on training researchers in non-animal methods from Brazil toJapanwww.iivs.org
Over the past year, IIVS has been to China, funded by PETA, to train scientists in theuse of non-animal tests (see PETA, above). In November 2012 it signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with The European Partnership for Alternative
Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) to establish “a strategic partnership dedicatedto the international dissemination of alternative techniques for safety evaluation”. 67
EPAA will be providing €100,000 over two years to be used to support further training
activities in key regions, including China and Brazil. 68 In May 2013, IIVS announced
the formation of the Industry Council for the Advancement of Regulatory Acceptanceof Alternatives (ICARAA).69 The focus of ICARAA will be on educational programmes,
including lectures, demonstrations, hands-on training and how to interpret data.
ICARAA comprises a number of companies including Avon Products, British
American Tobacco Group and Research & Development, and Unilever, as well as
IIVS. According to Erin Hill, demand for IIVS training has increased over the past
twelve months with a “phenomenal amount of requests”. According to Erin, demandhas expanded within countries where training has already taken place, and also withnew countries asking for training, including “Korea and Vietnam” and demand
increasing in Russia where it there had been a lull. 70
5.1.5

Norecopa, Norway

For their work on the NORINA database of non-animal testing products and teachingaids.
www.norecopa.no

65 PETA News release, 7/11/2012
66 PETA press release, 7/11/2012
67 Institute for In Vitro Sciences
68 Institute for In Vitro Sciences
69 IIVS press release, 28/5/2013
70 Conversation with Erin Hill, IIVS, 16/7/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201317

Norecopa is the Norwegian Consensus Platform for Replacement, Reduction and
Refinement of animal experiments. It maintains NORINA, a database (in English)“containing information on over 3,900 audiovisualaudio-visual aids that may be usedas alternatives or supplements to the use of animals in teaching and training,
including dissection alternatives, at all levels from Junior School to University”. 71
There is little information on its website about any new developments in 2012/3.

5.1.6

The Alexandra Association, Monaco

For their work on the open source models for cell culture technologies.
http://alexandra-project.org
Since the organisation’s nomination for the 2012 Lush Prize, the Alexandra
Association have been very busy in the area of training and education. On World
Animal Day, 4th October 2012, the Alexandra organised an information day on theuse of alternative methods to animal experimentation, together with Dr. Christophe
Capallere, head of tissue culture laboratories of Sterlab SA, France. Students ofdifferent schools in Monaco were educated about the issue of animal testing, and thecurrently available alternative methods. They learned about use of tissue engineered
reconstructed human skin and oral tissues to test cosmetic, oral care products andhousehold chemicals. The day also addressed how these models could be applied toanimal-free medical research. The Alexandra Association said that they were very
pleased with the “enthusiasm and genuine interest of these young students in animal
welfare and how tissue engineered models offer a solution to animal
experimentation: their active participation in the experimental session and multiple
questions on the topic prove the necessity of educating youngsters and makemaking them aware of the issues related to animal testing.” 72 The organisation isconvinced that these sessions are extremely important and intend to organise themmore frequently in several schools, hoping to reach a ‘critical mass’ “that one day will
help us to change to a better, more ethically responsible world….” 73 Dr Bart De
Wever from The Alexandra Association emphasised the importance of educating
future generations about alternatives to animal tests.
The organisation’s other focus is on training existing scientists on Open Source 3Dtissue models. During 2013, this took the organisation to Brazil where, for legal
reasons, skin models can’t be imported, and so the training focused not just on theuse of 3D models, but also on the construction of them. Dr Bart De Wever explainedthat the technology for the 3D models is currently in the hands of “a few bigcompanies”, and emphasised that open data models are essential for advancing
research.74
The organisation is still relatively new (it’s been in existence since 2011) and in thattime seems to have made huge inroads into this area. Its pioneering in open source
71 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 201272 Alexandra Project73 Alexandra Project74 Telephone conversation with Dr Bart De Wever 31/7/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201318

approach to modelling appears to be unique, and could radically increase thenumbers of laboratories using such methods where appropriate. It seems to be theonly organisation focusing solely on training users on tissue development methods interms of production and use and has ultimate aims to train scientists at a dedicatedtraining centre in Monaco itself.

5.1.7

InterNICHE, UK

For their work in training in former Soviet states, South America and Africa.
www.interniche.org
During April to June 2012, InterNiche InterNICHE ran a series of seminars,
exhibitions and meetings in Iran, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan providing the first major
exposure to replacement alternatives in these countries. In a report published in
March 2013, this outreach was deemed a success on a number of levels; : one
university in Kyrgyzstan agreed to end all of its animal use. 75 In March 2013,
InterNICHE co-ordinator Nick Jukes also presented at a conference in Giza, Egypt,on the use of animal alternatives in veterinary education.

5.1.8

T8: The International QSAR Foundation

For their international database on chemicals and toxicity.
www.qsari.org
The website was visited for the course of the research but no new information
regarding this project had been added.

5.2 Other organisations: new initiatives, projects or resources since lastyear’s paper

More in-depth descriptions of many of these organisations can be found in the ‘data’
section of last year’s paper. The organisations are presented in alphabetical order.
5.2.1

CAAT and CAAT-Europe (USA/Europe)

http://caat.jhsph.edu/
http://cms.uni-konstanz.de/leist/caat-europe/
The John Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) is part of theBaltimore-based John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. It aims
to promote humane science by “supporting the creation, development, validation,
75 InterNICHE

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201319

and use of alternatives to animals in research, product safety testing, andeducation”.76 The organisation focuses on the 3Rs, rather than just replacement.
CAAT-Europe is housed at the University of Konstanz and co-ordinates “transatlantic
activities to promote education in humane science”. 77 Dr Thomas Hartung is a
program liaison representing John Hopkins, with Dr Marcel Leist serving as the
University of Konstanz liaison. CAAT and CAAT-Europe plan to develop a joint
education programme which will include: e-courses, ; CAAT’s certificate programmeon humane science, ; a student exchange; and collaboration in the International
Graduate School.78
During 2012/13, workshops provided by CAAT in the US and Europe included thefollowing:•

Joint US Workshop: Scientific Roadmap for the Future of Animal-Free
Systemic Toxicity Testing•

Developing Microphysiological Systems for Use as Regulatory Tools Challenges and Opportunities•

Alternative In Vitro Methods to Characterize the Role of Endocrine Active
Substances (EASs) in Human Hormone-targeted Tissues•

Organotypic 3D-cell Culture Models and Engineered Tissues•

European Parliament Workshop on Advancing Safety Science with Innovative,
Non-animal Tools: October 10, 2012

It also continues to run courses including “Alternative Methods in Animal Testing”
which discuss and evaluate “strategies for reducing the number of animals utilized inbasic and applied research”. The course addresses traditional in vitro methods,
including cell culture and analytical chemistry as well as newer, and evolving
techniques such as informatics, genomics, and proteomics. It also covers
governmental regulatory processes for approving new testing methods, especially invitro methods.79
According to Dr Marcel Leist, CAAT Europe has compiled a course programme
published in Altex, with the aim of getting different people involved in the teaching ofalternative methods. “The argument is to get people involved in the teaching, and it
includes a rough outline of a teaching programme for a day, two days or a week,
which would be modular, and this could be a starting point”. 80
5.2.2

Cefic-LRI, Belgium

http://www.cefic-lri.org
76 CAAT
77 CAAT
78 CAAT
79 Alternative Methods in Animal Testing, Johns Hopkins course
80 Conversation with Dr Marcel Leist, 22/7/2013

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201320

Cefic is the Brussels-based organisation representing the European chemicalindustry, and the LRI is its long-range Research Initiative. In February 2013, alongwith The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing, it
hosted a workshop on skin sensitisation entitled “moving forward with non-animal
testing strategies”. More than 50 people took part, including representatives from
regulatory agencies. Participation was by invitation only. 81
5.2.3

CELLTOX (Italy)

www.celltox.it
CellTox is an Association founded in 1991 in Milan. It aims to bring together
researchers in Italian public and private institutions that who carry out in vitro
activities to “promote the circulation of information of information and knowledge andprovide opportunities training in the field of alternative methods to young
researchers”.82 It organised a 4 day theoretical course on alternative methods in
Milan and will partner with LARF for the practical part of an upcoming edition of thecourse. It will also contribute 1,000 Euros€1,000 x 2 to reimburse the expenses of
two participants in the 18th International Congress on In Vitro Toxicology in 2014 foryoung researchers under the age of 32.
5.2.4

Doctors Against Animal Experiments, Germany

www.aerzte-gegen-tierversuche.de/en/
Doctors Against Animal Experiments was founded in 1979 and is a charitableorganisation of doctors and scientists who work in the medical field with the aim ofabolishing animal experiments on both ethical and scientific grounds. It is involved
and campaigns and lobbying and, relevant to this category, schools and university
educational projects. It has recently published a “trilingual website in Russian,
Ukrainian, and German” to inform and educate students and teachers of theorganisation’s Eastern European project.83 This project has mainly worked in the
Ukraine, where educational institutions are provided with “alternative teaching aids ifthey agree per contract to abstain from animal experiments in their study courses”.
Since this programme was instigated in 2008, “36 institutes in 15 Ukrainian towns
have signed the contract” receiving laptops, multimedia programmes, videos andbeamers. Doctors Against Animal Experiments estimate that this has reduced animaluse by around 35,000 per year.84 The Society also works with InterNiche InterNICHE
in projects in Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan and has also financed the
production of educational films in Russian. The trilingual website gives details of the
programme and provides information on alternative teaching methods as well aslisting arguments against animal experiments in education and research. During
2013, the organisation has signed contracts with two additional institutions in the
Ukraine where the establishments committed to refrain from using live animals andin return received laptops and multimedia programs to convey the subject matter. 85
81 Skin sensitisation training workshop: "Moving forward with non-animal testing strategies", Long-range
Research Initiative
82 Lab4Life
83 Towards alternative methods in education in Eastern Europe, ALTEX
84 Towards alternative methods in education in Eastern Europe, ALTEX
85 Doctors Against Animal Experiments, Germany

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201321

Also of relevance is its work in Germany with young people. It maintains a website
called “Harry Helps Animals” aimed at children and young people of 10 to 13 years
86, has created teaching materials related to animal testing, and offers animal welfare
education in three regions of Germany where trained animal welfare teachers workin schools, focusing on animal testing. 87
5.2.5

The European Society for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EUSAAT)

www.eusaat.org
The European Society for Alternatives to Animal Testing holds has held an annual
conference which has been held since 1991 and is the oldest congress onalternatives to animal testing. The congress aims are to bring important stakeholders
together to discuss the 3rs 3Rs and exchange scientific developments. 2013’s
Congress, the 18th, will be held at the University of Linz, Austria. Previous years had
sessions accredited and accepted for ‘further training’ although they were notspecifically training sessions. However, during this year’s congress, a training course
will be held for congress participants for the first time.
Although the congress itself is not restricted to replacement of animals, the two day
training does centre on replacement and covers both theory and practice with asecond day dedicated to practical training. This particular training is aimed at‘students and young scientists (under 35 years), who are already participants of the2013 congress. There are two days of training offered altogether. The first, where
numbers are not limited includes lectures on validated and pre-validated alternative
methods. The second has limited places (24) and includes three sessions ofpractical training on three different methods. The training is free but limited to two
individuals per organisation. The training is aimed at this demographic because theorganisers believe that funding for additional training is difficult for young
researchers.88
5.2.6

The European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV) (Europe)

http://www.estiv.org“ESTIV is the leading organisation in Europe that strengthens the scientific networkof in vitro toxicologists and promotes in vitro toxicology, both scientifically andeducationally in all countries of Europe”.89 Although one of its aims is to encourage“education and training in in vitro toxicology at all levels in Europe” no information
about exact programmes could be found on its website. 90 Eurotox 2013 (conference
for all the European societies of toxicology) will take place in September 2013 in
Switzerland and will include educational courses, symposia and workshops. 91
5.2.7

FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Research)

http://www.frame.org.uk
86 Harry Hilft Tieren
87 http://www.aerzte-gegen-tierversuche.de/en/projects/school-project/235-project-for-young-people
88 http://www.eusaat.org/index.php/congress/2013/eusaat-2013-training-course
89 http://www.estiv.org/
90 http://www.estiv.org/general.html
91 http://www.eurotox2013.com/programme.html

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201322

Frame runs training schools in Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis of
Biomedical Experiments. This training aims to provide postgraduate researchscientists “with the tools they need to minimise the number of animals they use andmaximise the data they obtain through their work”.92 The training is largely aimed at
postgraduate researchers, though it is also open to other interesting individuals.
While an important aspect of training, this training is focused on reduction andrefinement rather than on training for replacement. During 2013, these courses took
place in both Nottingham and Netherlands.
5.2.8

The Human Toxicology Project Consortium (HTPC)

http://humantoxicologyproject.org/“HTPC is a multi-stakeholder coalition dedicated to accelerating the global
implementation of a new paradigm in toxicity testing. Grounded in a mechanistic
understanding of chemical-biological interactions, this systems-based approach will
generate better data more efficiently on the potential risks of chemicals to humans
and the environment”.93 HTPC is included because of its support of the November
2012 International Workshop on Current and Future Prospects of Alternative
Methods for Cosmetics safety testing in Brazil. (See Humane Society International
below.)
5.2.9

Humane Society International (HSI)

www.hsi.org/about/
Humane Society International is an animal protection organisation working to protect
all animals – including “animals in laboratories, farm animals, companion animals
and wildlife”.94 It supports many programs around the world and has offices in:Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, the UK and the, US. Of particular relevance tothis report is its funding of various training programmes conducted by otherorganisations, and its work in Brazil. In November, HSI hosted Brazil’s first“regulatory science workshop” which brought together scientists, authorities andcosmetics companies from Brazil and the rest of the world to “discuss the latest
scientific and regulatory developments in the field of alternatives”. 95 Brazil currently
relies heavily on animal experiments and many much animal testing takes places (forexample on in cosmetics) that are not required or even permitted in othercountries”.96 The workshop built on earlier training organised by SeCAM and IIVS toprovide practical training to government authorities and industry scientists. HSI
claims that “already, Brazil has updated its cosmetics testing guidelines for the
better” since the workshop.97 Humane Society International has also partnered with
IIVS in order to deliver training in China. 98

92 http://www.frame.org.uk/page.php?pg_id=244
93 http://humantoxicologyproject.org/
94 http://www.hsi.org/about/
95 http://www.hsi.org/news/news/2012/10/brazil_cosmetics_workshop_101112.html
96 http://www.hsi.org/news/news/2012/10/brazil_cosmetics_workshop_101112.html
97 http://www.hsi.org/news/news/2012/10/brazil_cosmetics_workshop_101112.html
98 http://www.hsi.org/news/press_releases/2013/06/bcf_china_launch_062813.htm

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201323

5.2.10 International Society for In Vitro Methods (Invitrom), Belgium

www.invitrom.org“INVITROM focuses on the promotion of, the development, the application and theacceptance of in vitro models in biomedical research.” 99 It believes that believes thatin vitro “”approaches, in combination with other, preferably animal-free, test methods
may lead to effective new strategies and paradigms in toxicity testing for human risk
assessment”. IVITROM organises workshops and a congress promoting in vitro
methods. In 2014, the 18th International Congress on in vitro Toxicology, will takeplace in the Netherlands during 2014 and will be organised in collaboration with The
European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV). The programme will be focusedaround the slogan “Making sense of in vitro methods” and will centre on how “newtechnologies can strengthen the interpretation and application of in vitro methods intoxicological research and risk assessment”.100 Young scientists are invited topresent their work, and attendees are expected to come from academia, companies
and organisations. A symposium, called “iIn Vitro Models: the Cell is the Limit” hasalso been organised for October 2013.
5.2.11 The Joint Research, Institute for Consumer Health and Consumer Protection (JRCIHCP), Italy

http://ihcp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/our_institute
Based in Italy, the JRC-IHCP is part of the European Union’s Joint Research Centre.
Its mission is to “provide scientific and technical support to the EU policies for theprotection of the interests and health of European citizens in the areas of food,consumer products, chemicals and public health.” 101 It organised a four-days training
and information exchange event for a delegation of the Chinese regulatory
authorities in November 2012.102 The European Union Reference Laboratory foralternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) and European Commission
Directorate-General for Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) took part in theinformation exchange, while scientists gave presentations. Practical training was
also given.
5.2.12 1st Latin American Conference on Alternative Methods for Use of Animals in
Education Research and Industry (COLAMA 2012)

COLOMA 2012 took place in Brazil in November 2012 in collaboration with
InterNicheInterNICHE. The conference provided a forum for Latin Americancountries interested in alternative methods. Almost 200 people attended, including
over 40 speakers and 12 supporting organisations. 103 Topics covered included:•

Ethical considerations, policies and laws regarding the use of animals inscience and industry

99 www.invitrom.org
100 http://www.estiv2014.org/welcome.html
101 http://ihcp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/our_institute102 http://ihcp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/our_activities/alt-animal-testing-safety-assessment-chemicals/alternativemethods-to-animal-testing-training-course-delegation-of-aqsiq
103 http://altweb.jhsph.edu/news/2012/COLAMA2012.html

Lush Training Prize 2013 – Background Paper - August 201324

•

Alternative methods for teaching and training - Humane Education•

Animal welfare and refinement for high-quality science•IV - Reduction and replacement of animal use in science and industry.

•

According to SkinEthic (see below) more than 250 participants from 15
countries “underlined the soaring demand for alternative methods in all Latin
America”.104

5.2.13 LATINFARMA 2013: 3Rs Alternatives in Pharmacology, Toxicology and Teaching
WorkshopInterNicheInterNICHE, along with the Latin American Society of Pharmacology andthe Cuban Society of Pharmacology, the Cuban Society of Toxicology and the Cuban
Society of Laboratory Animals will host a four day symposium in Havana, Cuba
during October 2012. Different Symposia and Workshops will be running in parallel,
including a Workshop focused specifically on 3Rs Alternatives in Pharmacology,
Toxicology and Teaching.105
5.2.14 LARF: The Analysis and Research Laboratory of Pathophysiology, Department ofExperimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Italy

http://www.larf.unige.it/
Larf LARF has been involved in in vitro experiments using the twenty years ofexperience of its staff in various fields of experimental pathology. Its activities are
based around the belief that alternative methods can be very useful for theadvancement of science for the benefit of human health. It focuses on research
devoted to a range of study areas including: the construction of alternative models toanimal testing for the evaluation of the biological potential of natural and synthetic
chemical compounds; and standardisation and validation of in vitro models to use forthe toxicological assessment of chemical compounds. It also offers some training
and education. In April 2013, “Cell cultures, the alternative methods” was aimed at a
mix of attendees including doctors, biologists, chemists, pharmacists, technicians
and students. The course focuses focused on describing and demonstrating
alternatives to animal testing and is was both theoretical and practical. Fees are
were kept low as a result of sponsorship, meaning that the 2-day course only costs
60 Euros. Due to increased requests, courses have expanded to include 24. 106. The
course was initially run in 2008, again in 2010, then in November 2012, April 2013
and again in December 2013. According to Anna Maria Bassi, the research team isalso involved in training courses for managers, corporate executives, lab technicians
and researchers “interested in the acquisition of expertise and in-depth [knowledge]
and comparison with industry experts”. 107 It should be noted that not all of LARF’s
activities exclusively use alternative methods.108
104 http://www.skinethic.com/news00010931.asp
105 http://altweb.jhsph.edu/news/2012/LATINFARMA_2013.html
106 http://www.larf.unige.it/
107 Email from Anna Maria Bassi of larfLARF, 20/7/13
108 Email from Anna Maria Bassi of larfLARF, 20/7/13

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5.2.15 Mahatma Gandhi-Doerenkamp Center (MGDC)

http://www.mgdcaua.org/
The Mahatma Gandhi-Doerenkamp Center (MGDC) was established in India by the
Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation (DZF), Switzerland to motivate the teachers andstudents to take to “alternatives” in place of animals in life science education along
the lines of the 3Rs principle. It was commended in the 2012 Lush Prize paper for its
in vitro toxicology workshops. However, as it was framed within a wider 3Rs context
rather than simply on replacement, the organisation could not be shortlisted. The
organisation website includes details of courses in 2012, but not mentioneddoes not
mention anything for 2013. Correspondence with the organisation indicates that it
was active in 2013, but that the website had not yet been updated. No details were
given on its 2013 activities in the correspondence. 109
5.2.16 NC3Rs

www.nc3rs.org.uk
NC3Rs announced in February 2013, a boost of £1 million to help develop networksof shared resources to reduce and refine their animal use. The initiative supports thedevelopment of shared tissue banks, databases and equipment. Whilst this will resultin the reduction of animal use, it is not a scheme focused on replacement. The
NC3Rs’ Infrastructure for Impact awards launched in 2013 was aiming to fundinfrastructure and resources and was encouraging applications including ‘resource
sharing’, ‘data sharing’, ‘establishing networks’, and multi-user equipment. 110
In June 2013, NC3Rs hosted training in Imaging Technology Development to“connect end users with technology developers in considering a number oftechnological challenges which, if addressed, could advance science and reducereliance on animal models or improve animal welfare.” 111
Clearly, while such collaborations and workshops are important, they do not fit the
replacement only criteria for a Lush Award.
5.2.17 The New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS)

www.neavs.org
The New England Anti-Vivisection Society is an American organisation dedicated to“ending the use of animals in research, testing, and science education”. It does thisthrough research, outreach, education, legislation, litigation and lobbying for policychange. In 2013, NEAVS offered 13 places to the 1st International Conference of
Alternatives to Animal Experimentation which took place in Almada, Portugal. The
places were for students wishing to pursue a career in alternatives to animal
experimentation. NEAVS also operates a loan library, which includes software,
manuals, charts, human curriculumscurricula, and animal resuscitation and

109 Correspondence from MGDC 2/8/2013
110 http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/news.asp?id=1906, February 2013
111 NC3Rs event, June 2013 http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/event.asp?id=1923

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intubation models. See Ethical Science Education Campaign (ESEC) below at
section 5.2.
5.2.18 People For Animal Rights, SATIS, Germany

www.satis-tierrechte.de
SATIS is a project of the People for Animal Rights in Germany. Its focus is on
humane teaching methods. It is partnered with InterNiche InterNICHE and provides
information on its website about alternatives as well as a German ethics university
ranking.
5.2.19 SEURAT-1 Research Initiative

http://www.seurat-1.eu
The Seurat-1 Research Initiative was set up “to overcome the lack of scientificknowledge needed to implement alternative safety solutions” by the Health Theme of
the Directorate General of Research and Innovation of the European Commission
and Cosmetics Europe.112 The Research Initiative, “Towards the replacement of invivo repeated dose or SEURAT-1”, has had joint funding by the European
Commission and the Cosmetics Europe. SEURAT-1 was designed as “a cluster ofseven projects: five complementary research projects, a central data management
and servicing project, and a co-ordination and support project” and involves almost
100 scientists from over 70 European organisations. 113 Although training may not be
its primary aim, it is organising “a training programme aiming at spreading
knowledge on the scientific domains covered by this Research Initiative and therelated ethical, industrial and regulatory matters. This training programme addresses
young scientists, in particular research fellows from the organisations that are
involved in this Research Initiative. When the capacity of the training courses allows
it, they will also be opened to external participants.” 114 The courses include a numberof areas including: in vitro toxicity test systems;, modern concepts in toxicology, ;industry and regulatory requirements, ; ethical aspects, ; practica,l hands-on data
analysis, ; and automation of stem cell culture. The training programme includes two
types of training – summer schools, and hands-on lab training. The first summer
school took place during June 2012 in Portugal and involved 100 young fellows fromSEURAT-1 partners and external organisations.
The objective of hands on training “is to transfer skills and expertise to researchers
already involved in SEURAT-1, potential future users and scientists from otherresearch projects.” The practical courses are particularly focused on “transferringknowledge about state of the art and leading edge technologies and operatingprocedures to the trainees”.115
In June 2013, Seurat-1 with Tox21 (one of the largest US-based research initiatives
in the field of animal-free safety assessment) came together for a three-day
112 http://www.seurat-1.eu/pages/background.php
113 http://www.seurat-1.eu
114 http://www.seurat-1.eu/pages/about-us/outreach.php
115 http://www.seurat-1.eu/pages/about-us/outreach.php

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workshop to discuss opportunities for co-operation. Such collaborations areimportant to recogniseIt is important to recognise such collaborations. 116
5.2.20 SkinEthic

www.skinethic.com
SkinEthic is a commercial company (owned by multinational L’Oreal) offering “theglobal science community – academic and industry – in vitro solutions for safety
testing and efficacy profiling to support research and development activities.” Theorganisation offers training sessions on its tissue models – on on-demand as well as
customised training sessions, as required. Training sessions take place in its
facilities in Lyon, France and are aimed at new users and trained in vitro
professionals who need to be updated on current validated protocols. The one- andand-a a-half day training sessions run once a month in 2013 and are kept small – amaximum of 5 trainees. They include “hands-on training on in the validated methods
for skin and eye irritation using 3D models”. The training costs are 1000
Euros€1,000, inclusive of VAT.117 Such costs may be prohibitive for some individuals
and organisations.
5.2.21 VITA – Russia

www.vita.org.ru/english/english.htm
In 2010, the Russian animal rights organisation VITA organised a competition forstudents under the heading “research without animal suffering”. The project was
funded by the German Doctors Against Animal Experiments, VITA andInterNicheInterNICHE. Its website includes about a free free-to to-download film
illustrating the alternatives to the use of animals within teaching.

5.3 Organisations educating young people about alternatives
Not all of the following organisations and resources were included in last year’s
report. They are all offering students a range of resources in alternatives to using
animals in education. In the US, dissection of animals is an accepted teaching tool inschools and in colleges, particularly in the study of anatomy and physiology. In theAmerican education system, “an estimated six million animals are dissected everyyear”118, many of them being bred specifically for this purpose. Intervention at thislevel is crucial according to Dr Capaldo from NEAVs who, when interviewed in 2012
said: “Not all states allow dissection choices, even at high school levels, so from thevery get-go, our message to budding scientists is that if you aren’t willing to hurt orharm animals, then you may want to go into another field. So the work to get
students [who want to do] ... progressive, non-animal research goes all the way backto sophomore year at high school when they were forced to do a frog or cat
dissection in order to get into the next level of their biological studies”. 119 Erin Hill of
IIVS agrees, arguing that alternative methods to the use of animals within science
116 http://ihcp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/our_labs/eurl-ecvam/seurat-1-meets-tox21
117 http://www.skinethic.com/pageLibre000101a2.asp
118 http://www.animalearn.org/faq.php
119 Conversation with Dr Capaldo, NEAVS, 20/8/12

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need to be introduced earlier within education. 120 The resources offered by BioLEAP
and AnimalLearn and others are therefore essential for increasing awareness about
these concepts and allowing and facilitating more potential scientists to achieve theireducational goals without resorting to the dissection of animals. Young people inschools are the scientists and animal testers of tomorrow so any programmechallenging the ethos of using animals in testing could be said to be creating thealternative researchers of tomorrow.
5.3.1

Animalearn

http://www.animalearn.org/
Animalearn is a website dedicated to fostering “awareness of and a respect foranimals used in education”. It is “dedicated to assisting educators and students tofind the most effective non-animal methods to teach and study science”. 121
Animalearn has created The Science Bank, which is a “lending program of new andinnovative life science software and educational products that enable educators andstudents to learn anatomy, physiology, and psychology lessons without harming
animals. Animalearn also provides humane education curricula and materials free ofcharge for educators and students.” Included in the bank are books, brochures,videos and “the latest in high-tech, animal-friendly educational technology for theclassroom”.122 It conducts workshops – for free – for educators wishing to implement
the animal-free programs and products, and delivers presentations to students andstudent organisations. It also delivers presentations to classrooms. As with BioLEAP,
all levels of education are covered, from elementary school and even pre-school,
through to university levels, graduate level, veterinary school, and med school.
5.3.2

Ethical Science Education Campaign (ESEC)The Ethical Science Education Campaign (ESEC) is the educational affiliate to
NEAVS and operates an alternatives loan library. This offers advanced software,
manuals, charts, humane curriculumscurricula, and animal resuscitation andintubation models. ESEC works to ensure all students can enter the field of scienceand be a part of the breakthroughs of today and tomorrow regardless of theirethics.123
5.3.3

National Anti-Vivisection Society (US)www.navs.org
The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) (not to be confused with the UK
organisation of the same name), is a US-based organisation “dedicated to ending
the exploitation of animals used in science”. The organisation “promotes greatercompassion, respect and justice for animals through educational and advocacy
programs based on respected ethical, scientific, and legal theory”. In 1993, NAVS
created an information resource known as the Biology Education Advancement
Program (BioLEAP). It is now the most “comprehensive free lending library of
120 Conversation with Erin Hill 16/7/2013
121 http://www.animalearn.org/
122 http://www.animalearn.org/

123 http://www.neavs.org/resources/esecs-inventory-of-alternatives-to-dissection
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alternatives to classroom dissection” and offers a “growing archive ... of state-of-theart dissection alternatives to students, teachers, school boards and others”. 124
Materials include “dozens of high-relief, three-dimensional plastic models, computer
software programmes, colour transparencies, DVDs and other materials aimed atteaching biological principles without sacrificing the lives of animals”. 125 The tools are
aimed at all levels of education – from high school, right up until to post-graduate
work and represent a selection of animals. BioLEAP enables students and educators
who object to, and wish to avoid, dissection to do so while still fulfilling theiracademic requirements.
5.3.4

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) UK

http://www.science-ethics-animals.org.uk
The RSPCA has a dedicated website with a range of resources for use in schools to
stimulate debate around animal cruelty – and including animal testing. A lesson planis included and a number of factsheets are available to download: Ethics, Animal
Experiments and the Law; Fundamental Research; Harm/Benefit Assessment;
Humans and other Animals; Medical Research; Right or Wrong - Who Decides?;Safety Testing of Non-Medical Products; and Veterinary Research. 126
Also see the German organisation, Doctors Against Animal Experiments, for its
website aimed at young people.

5.4 Databases
The following organisations and databases were profiled in detail in the 2012 paper.
5.4.1

The International QSAR Foundation

http://www.qsari.org/
The organisation’s mission is to “develop computerised tools as alternatives toanimal testing”. It has an ‘”online training program in QSAR methods and the QSAR
application toolbox which has been developed by OECD member countries”. “Thetraining program is designed for scientists charged with developing safetyassessments for chemical manufacturers and distributors as well as for thosecharged with evaluating submitted assessments for new chemicals or those alreadyused in commerce”.127 There is no updated information on the QSAR Toolbox ortrainings, with the last toolbox training workshop mentioned on the website taking
place in Barcelona in February 2012.
The QSAR Toolbox Version 3.0 has been updated and the OECD will be releasing
additional training material on its use.

124 http://www.navs.org/page.aspx?pid=416
125 http://www.navs.org/page.aspx?pid=416
126 http://www.science-ethics-animals.org.uk/page/index.cfm
127 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012

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5.4.2

Laboratory of Mathematical Chemistry (LMC)

http://oasis-lmc.org/products/software/toolbox/training.aspx
As the developers of the QSAR toolbox, the LMC claims it is best placed to offer
training. The organisation offers training on site (on demand), as well as regularannual training courses.128
5.4.3

Effectopedia

This “open source and free software is designed to fill the last remaining gap in theuse of QSAR to estimate adverse effects of chemicals without additional animal
testing”.129 No new information on Effectopedia was found since last year’s paper.
5.4.4

ECVAM/Joint Resource Centre

The European Centre for Alternative Methods (EVCAM) is housed within theEuropean Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). It acts “as a focal point for
the exchange of information on the development of alternative test methods” and has
a database on alternative procedures. During 2013 it updated “Thirty Questions andAnswers related to Alternatives in Animal Testing”. EURL EVCAM manages thefollowing databases and has a Search Guide on Alternatives to Animal Testing:•

The DataBase service on ALternative Methods, DB-ALM
A unique collection of data-sets “providing factual information (not only
bibliographic references) presented as evaluated (and therefore ready-touse) data sheets”. It aims to “provide an overall picture on the state-of-the-artof alternative methods in use at all stages of development, validation or
regulatory acceptance for a given topic area in the form of method summary
descriptions and/or more detailed information to allow the transfer and useof a method by a laboratory.”130•

The Tracking System on Alternative Methods (TSAR)
This tool is “aimed at providing a tool aimed at providing a transparent view on
the status of alternative methods as they progress from purely scientificprotocols submitted for pre-validation to being actively used in a regulatory
context. This tracking system intends to cover all steps, from the initialsubmission for pre-validation until final adoption by inclusion in the EU
legislation and/or related Guidance Documents, when appropriate”. 131

5.4.5

AnimAlt ZEBET – database for alternative methods to animal experiments

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) was set up in November
2002 to strengthen consumer health protection. It is the scientific agency of theFederal Republic of Germany. The BfR also incorporates ZEBET, which is the“Centre for the Documentation and Evaluation of Alternatives to Animal
Experiments”. It houses AnimAlt-ZEBET, a database aiming to provide scientists withinformation on alternative methods. It is accessible on the internet without licence
128 http://oasis-lmc.org/products/software/toolbox/training.aspx
129 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012
130 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012
131 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012

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fees in German and English and includes validated information on alternative
methods. ZEBET has also developed a continuing education course “Laboratory
Animals, Animal Experiments and Alternative Methods” in 1992. Participation in thecourse is a “pre-requisite to the approval of an application for animal experiments”.
The course is offered as a “regular semester course at the Freie Universitaet Berlin”
and is also available on a “monthly basis as a commercial training programme” inboth German and English.132
5.4.6

Go3R search engine

http://www.go3r.org/
This project, produced by Transinsight GmbH with ZEBET aims to develop a“knowledge-based search engine for alternative methods to animal experiments”. 133 It“provides an endpoint-centred semantic literature search for toxicological information(e.g. as required for REACH), highlights animal testing alternatives and organises 22
million abstracts listed in PubMed and TOXNET in an accurate table of contents,
enabling fast bibliometric analysis and promising more exhaustive and selective
recovery of relevant documents.”134 For more details, see the 2012 report. There are
no details of any developments during 2012/13.
5.4.7

Toxicology and Environmental Health Information“The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) maintains acomprehensive web site with access to resources produced by TEHIP and othergovernment agencies and organisations. Its flagship resource is TOXNET, an
integrated database system of hazardous chemicals, toxic releases andenvironmental health. TOXNET's use is supported by the TOXNET and Beyond
Training Class Schedule and Workbook. The workbook corresponds to the one-day
class TOXNET and Beyond: Using the National Library of Medicine’s Environmental
Health and Toxicology Portal offered by the National Library of Medicine Training
Center (NTC).”135
5.4.8

UC Davis Center for Animal Alternatives Information

The UC Davis Center for Animal Alternatives Information “gathers and disseminates
information concerning animal alternatives. The Centre places special emphasis on
disseminating information concerning models, computer programs, and other animalalternatives in education through every level of public and private education. It alsoseeks to provide investigators who use animals with information on the most current
methods for improving all aspects of animal care during their work.” 136 There is no
new information about developments during 2012/13.
5.4.9

Altweb Guide to Searching for Alternatives

Altweb, published by CAAT/The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health is the global
portal for information on alternatives to animal testing on the internet “and beyond”. It
132 http://www.bfr.bund.de/en/education_and_training_on_alternative_methods_to_animal_experiments62811.html
133 http://www.vero.org.uk/go3r-introduction.pdf
134 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012
135 Lush Prize Training Prize 2012, Research Paper, August 2012136 http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/animalalternatives/mission.php

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is also home to the journal “Altex: Alternatives to Animal Experimentation”, the official
publications of CAAT. It publishes its own search guide on its website, which it
describes as a step-by-step approach to an alternatives search including databases,
policies and regulations, and sample searches.137
5.4.10 Data Infrastructure for Chemical Safety (DiXa)

This project is another data based initiative which is “dedicated to developing andimplementing a robust and sustainable service infrastructure for data from EUfunded research into non-animal tests predicting chemical safety”. 138 The project has
a number of collaborators including JRC European Commission, Maastricht
University, Imperial College London and EMBL-EBI – a not-for-profit organisationthat provides freely available bioinformatics tools and services to the public. DiXa
offers a number of training courses and workshops. They include two online training
courses, dissemination days, and a range of workshops and courses including thisone in September 2013:
Chemical and Biological resources for Toxicology and Toxicogenomics: a 3 daycourse giving participants an overview of the chemical and biological resources
available for researchers in the field of Toxicology and Toxicogenomics. It is aimed at
researchers and scientists from academia and industry.
5.4.11 The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association Alternatives in Education
Database

http://alted.hsvma.org/“The HSVMA's Alternatives in Education Database contains thousands of entries ofalternatives to the harming or killing of animals for many levels of education.” 139 An
advanced search option allows the user to search for an alternative by species,
medium, discipline, educational level or a combination of these.

137 http://altweb.jhsph.edu/
138 DiXa poster on website: www.dixa-fp7.eu
139 http://alted.hsvma.org/

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