Progressive Non-Animal Research Society

04/22/2026

From Dr. Charu Chandrasekera, Canadian researcher and renowned expert on Non-Animal Methods:

𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐑 — 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧-𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬

hashtag is a Sanskrit word that carries millennia of reverence within it.
It is the descent of the sacred into the ordinary.

𝐀𝐧 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠—often to restore balance, uphold dharma, or reveal truth.
A force that arrives at the precise moment it is needed—a purposeful presence—to protect the good and restore order.
It is the moment when something vast—wisdom, compassion, justice, truth — steps down from the unseen and takes form in the world of dust and breath.

𝐀𝐧 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞.
𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧—a presence that alters the course of things. Not by power alone, but by purpose.

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧-𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭—living human tissues, grown from astronauts’ own cells, designed to study the effects of deep space on the human body.

And the name is 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐑—𝐀 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞.
A definition that lands almost uncannily close to its Sanskrit origin: a descent of the sacred into form.
Except here, the descent is scientific.
Human biology itself becoming the messenger.

Watch the 1-𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 from NASA (link in comment).

For generations, human biology was carried on the backs of innocent animals who had no voice in the matter.

Today, science begins to listen to the body it seeks to understand.
Not dogs, monkeys, and chimpanzees standing in for astronauts.
𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒—embodiments of ourselves, bearing our own biology, our own truth.

Science, at last, in alignment with reality.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧.

From Laika the dog…to the chimpanzees and monkeys who suffered…
To a chip the size of a USB drive carrying living human tissue into space.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.

Congrats to Emulate, Inc. Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. Lorna Ewart Daniel Levner and all the other pioneers revolutionizing medicine with organ chips!
🙌 🎉 🥂
hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag

03/28/2026

This week, our bus shelter ad kicked off in Canada's capital city! At the intersection of Sparks and Bank Street, a busy pedestrian area, the message of human-relevant science is sounding loud and clear... just one block from Parliament Hill! 2 more billboards will be going up in the city during the month of April. With much gratitude to our kind donors who are making this campaign possible. In support of the work of Dr. Charu Chandrasekera and her tireless dedication to making animal-free science the gold standard in Canada
Design Credit: Defender Media

03/01/2026

Our billboards are up! in Ottawa, and in Victoria BC... Their theme is to encourage policy makers to reallocate funding toward New-Approach Methods, putting an end to the long, dark ages of animal experimentation. Learn about the exciting and sophisticated alternatives at our website https://progressiveresearchsociety.com/

02/03/2026

Award-winning researcher lends a hand at PNARS' display at the 2026 Wellness Show in Downtown Vancouver: Dr. Zheng Tan of UBC spoke with attendees about the sophisticated new approach methodologies that are quickly proving their worth and eliminating the use of animals in biomedical experimentation. Thank you, Dr. T.!!
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01/30/2026

We are proud to announce that Dowlette-Mary Alam El Din, a graduate fellow from our sister organization, International Foundation for Ethical Research (IFER), has been shortlisted for the 2026 LUSH Prize in the Young Researcher category for her groundbreaking work in developing human-relevant, animal-free approaches to developmental neurotoxicity testing. This recognition highlights her exceptional dedication to advancing humane and scientifically robust alternatives to animal testing. Congratulations, Dowlette!

01/28/2026

https://adavsociety.org/urgent-message-for-canadians-lets-not-fall-behind-in-science/

01/28/2026

Not all the news from south of the border is bad! This is an exciting development that needs to be emulated in Canada.

Congress has signaled support for accelerating nonanimal chemical testing at the EPA through new appropriations language. The directive supports the EPA’s efforts to expand the use of modern, nonanimal testing methods, clarify how these approaches can be used to meet legal requirements, and train staff on their use.

The Physicians Committee welcomes this step as progress toward more human-relevant, efficient chemical safety testing and reduced reliance on animal tests.

Learn more: https://www.pcrm.org/news/good-science-digest/congress-supports-accelerating-nonanimal-chemical-testing-epa

07/15/2025

07/15/2025

from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington DC....

We have great news to share.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently hosted a workshop focused on reducing animal testing…

…and both agencies took real, actionable steps that will save animals right away!

Updates from the FDA:

The FDA will take immediate steps to eliminate animal testing in several critical areas: shellfish toxicity testing, rabies and leptospirosis vaccine testing, protein quality evaluation, pyrogen testing, and skin irritation testing. This change will save thousands of rabbits, mice, hamsters, and other animals from horrific experiments each year!

The FDA regulates food, drugs, medical devices, to***co, vaccines, cosmetics, and other products tested on animals, and has been notoriously slow to change. But during the workshop, the FDA announced plans to begin incorporating animal-free, human-based methods, streamline the agency’s policies to include more transparent regulatory requirements, and collaborate with the NIH to utilize existing human-based research data to better predict the safety of chemicals in humans.

Updates from the NIH:

Moving forward, the NIH announced it will no longer fund research proposals that exclusively use animal experiments! Plus, all new agency funding opportunities are required to include consideration for nonanimal methods. This will save lives!

The NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world, awarding more than 60,000 grants each year, and about half of its budget goes to fund experiments using animals. Until this big announcement, the agency would even go so far as to explicitly encourage researchers to design projects involving animals. This reliance on the suffering and death of animals has led to a system where more than 90% of drugs that pass in animal tests fail in human trials.

But now that’s all about to change. These changes by the FDA and the NIH are sending a clear message: Human-based research leads to better understanding and treatments of human diseases, saves innocent animal lives, and is the future of science and medicine.

The Physicians Committee has been at the forefront of advocating for these changes and working directly with the FDA and the NIH to advance superior and cruelty-free, human-based methods. We’ve trained thousands of scientists and policymakers—including FDA and NIH staff—on nonanimal methods, engaged with international regulatory bodies to shape global testing requirements, submitted expert guidance on human-based methods, and so much more!

Read more about the significance of these announcements—and the steps PCRM took to get us here today—in our news release and Good Science Digest.

Your support makes these victories possible. Although these recent announcements are crucial steps toward reducing animal testing, there’s still so much work to be done—and PCRM won’t stop fighting until EVERY cage is empty. Thank you for standing with us!

Sincerely,

Neal Barnard, MD
President
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine




Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20016

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07/11/2025

So many wins for replacing animal testing shared today!

After many years working on this issue, I’m ecstatic to finally see mainstream acknowledgment of the need and benefits of replacing animal use, connected to clear action items.

My FDA highlights:
- Commissioner Marty Makary and Senior Advisor Tracy Beth Hoeg recognize scientific, business, and ethical advantages of nonanimal methods, and that replacing animal testing is a nonpartisan, unifying issue
- FDA will widely publish NAMs use cases
- FDA will provide clear agency policies on NAMs that industry can rely on, including clear and open regulations
- Short term, FDA will replace animals in skin irritation, pyrogen/endotoxin testing, certain batch and potency testing
- Strong leadership is bringing thoughtful people/opinions out of the woodwork with thoughtful solutions
- FDA will work at international level because many companies are global and will test for the least common denominator, ie, animal testing
- FDA and NIH will collaborate to utilize existing human data for better predicting safety in humans

My NIH highlights:
- DPCPSI Acting Director Nicole Kleinstreuer recognizes nonanimal methods as lasting solution to replacing animal use in research and testing
- NIH investment is shifting/reprogramming to methods rooted in human biology
- NIH will build up infrastructure and robust support for human-based science to combat entrenched animal use
- NIH will no longer seek proposals exclusively for animal models, all funding announcements will emphasize human-based methods
- NIH demonstrates issue with reviewers requiring animals even where sponsor seeks to avoid using animals, and calls for serious actions to stop assuming animal testing will be best predictive model because not clinically relevant

My ARPA-H highlight:
- Catalyst to launch case study to use in silico tools to replace animal use in IND

Provide your comments to FDA via the link to livestream. FDA will soon put out an action plan related to this meeting.

Science is recentering to human biology to improve human health and save animals.

Buckle up!!

https://lnkd.in/gNctgjbd
View Nicole Kleinstreuer’s graphic link
Nicole KleinstreuerNicole Kleinstreuer
• 3rd+3rd+
Acting NIH Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)Acting NIH Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
4d • 4 days ago • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn

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05/23/2025

A prominent scientist speaks about the ongoing use of dogs in research, in this era of sophisticated non-animal methods

Welcome back to ! A 4-part series to discuss Canadian dogs in science! 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 2: 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 Canada’s use of in science has surged by 94% since 2020. But what exactly happens behind these closed doors? Sw...