Alternatives Research and Development Foundation

The "annual open" grant program funds innovative alternative methods to reduce or replace animal use in Research and testing.2023's funded projects were for scientific Research: 1.) Using human lung slices to study the relationship between cigarette smoke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd), and to test drug candidates for treating copd. 2.) Using human gingival slices to develop a non-animal model for studying oral inflammatory diseases. 3.) Using human brain organoids to examine the effects of sex hormones on neurodevelopment in order to understand how endocrine disruptors can alter important processes in the developing brain. 4.) Human-based in vitro 3d model of bone fracture healing to study the initial bleeding and healing processes that occur during bone fracture. 5.) Pancreatic islet organoids-on-a-chip system to study type 1 diabetes, providing a novel platform that could replace the use of animals in identifying new treatments for this challenging disease. 6.) A cardiac cell model to examine drug interactions with alcohol, since cardiotoxicity is the leading reason drugs fail to successfully move from animal studies to human treatment. 7.) Using a liver-based cell culture system to study the potentially toxic effects of microplastics on liver tissue. This year's focus on developing models to aid Development of treatments underscores the tremendous potential of in vitro models for biomedical Research. By supporting Research to develop alternative, animal-free models, ardf continues to advance both animal welfare and human health.ardf also sponsored scientific meetings, and education and outreach on alternative methods to accelerate understanding and collaboration.