Grant Winners

Up to £4 million has been awarded to 13 research projects as part of the NC3R's aims to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in experiments. These UK-based projects will look to advance knowledge and application into the replacement, reduction and refinement of animals in experiments as well as improve their welfare.

Award winners: David Baker and Mark Baker

Institution: Queen Mary, University of London

Value: £368,512

2Rs (refining and reducing) of animal models of multiple sclerosis

Award winner: Wendy Barclay

Institution: Imperial College London

Value: £125,368

Highly differentiated cultures of ferret airway epithelium for the study of respiratory viruses, including influenza

Award winners: Louis Chesler, Suzanne Eccles and Andrew Pearson

Institution: Institute of Cancer Research

Value: £291,488

Replacement of animals in cancer drug development by using 3D in vitro functional assays for increased predictive power

Award winners: Sian Harding and Nadire Ali

Institution: Imperial College London

Value: £323,316

Stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for detection of cardiotoxicity in cancer therapeutics

Award winners: Christer Hogstrand and Nic Bury (King's College London) and Peter Kille (Cardiff University)

Value: £386,300

FIGCS: An in vitro model to replace ecotoxicity testing of fish to pharmaceuticals

Award winners: Peter Hohenstein and Nicholas Hastie (MRC Human Genetics Unit) and Jamie Davies (University of Edinburgh)

Value: £428,344

Reducing mouse number in complex genetic experiments

Award winners: Charles Vyvyan Howard, George McKerr, Kurt Saetzler and Ana Soto

Institution: University of Ulster

Value: £361,934

A 3D tissue model of breast morphogenesis for replacing animals in testing for endocrine-disrupting substances

Award winner: Ronald Jones

Institution: University of Bath

Value: £362,968

A chronic model of epilepsy in organotypic brain-slice cultures of the rat entorhinal cortex

Award winners: Mohammed Nassar, David Grundy and Mathew Holley

Institution: University of Sheffield

Value: £387,392

Derivation of conditionally immortalised mouse DRG cell lines

Award winners: Owen Sansom and Marcos Vidal

Institution: University of Glasgow

Value: £350,528

Using the Drosophila fly intestine to investigate Wnt targets in vivo

Award winners: Christopher Secombes, Yolanda Corripio-Miyar and Jun Zou

Institution: University of Aberdeen

Value: £156,812

Development of in vitro assays to determine vaccine efficacy in fish

Award winners: Dorothea Sesardic, Christine Escargueil and Roland Fleck

Institution: National Institute for Biological Standards and Control

Value: £337,308

Development of cell-based assays as replacement assays for botulinum toxins and antitoxins

IN DETAIL

Award winner: Caroline Brennan

Institution: Queen Mary, University of London

Value: £356,952

Zebrafish behavioural assays to identify genetic mechanisms underlying drug seeking and addiction

With current research highlighting the significance of genetic factors when looking at an individual's proclivity to drug dependence, this project will seek to develop tests to analyse zebrafish traits of impulsivity and novelty-seeking behaviour. As neurochemical pathways involved in drug seeking are highly similar between zebrafish and mammals, the aim is that, once developed, reliable tests will be used to breed fish with altered drug-seeking behaviour for future investigations aimed at identifying genes linked to drug addiction. It is hoped this will provide an alternative solution and help to reduce the use of rodents in studies of this nature.