ALTERNATIVES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

THE "ANNUAL OPEN" GRANT PROGRAM FUNDS INNOVATIVE NON-ANIMAL METHODS TO REDUCE OR REPLACE ANIMAL USE IN RESEARCH AND TESTINGIN 2025, ARDF FUNDED THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH: 1) ENGINEERED HUMAN HEART MODELS FOR ADVANCING DRUG CARDIAC SAFETY ASSESSMENT; 2) IN VITRO MODELLING OF BUBBLE-ASSISTED FOCUSED ULTRASOUND BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER OPENING; 3) AN ADVANCED EX VIVO MODEL FOR IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS; 4) REPLACING ANIMAL-DERIVED PRODUCTS IN DRUG DEVELOPMENT IN VITRO MODELS; 5) IMMUNE DISRUPTORS AND THE DEVELOPING BRAIN: UNRAVELING HOW IMMUNOTOXICANTS SHAPE NEURODEVELOPMENT; 6) ADVANCING ORGANOID INTELLIGENCE WITH A HIPPOCAMPAL-CORTICAL SYSTEM; 7) GENERATION OF THE OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM FROM HUMAN PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS TO STUDY NEURODEGENERATION; AND 8) A HUMAN-RELEVANT MODEL FOR REAL-TIME MONITORING OF MYCN-DRIVEN NEUROBLASTOMA SPREADING AND DRUG TESTING. THESE PROJECTS REFLECT ARDF'S CONTINUED EMPHASIS ON SUPPORTING HUMAN-RELEVANT, ANIMAL-FREE APPROACHES FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND DRUG DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING CELL- AND TISSUE-BASED SYSTEMS, ORGANOID AND STEM CELL TECHNOLOGIES, COMPUTATIONALLY INFORMED MODELS, AND OTHER ADVANCED IN VITRO AND EX VIVO METHODS. BY SUPPORTING RESEARCH TO DEVELOP AND ADVANCE ALTERNATIVE, ANIMAL-FREE MODELS, ARDF CONTINUES TO PROMOTE BOTH ANIMAL WELFARE AND HUMAN HEALTH. ARDF ALSO CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF ITS ALTERNATIVES IN RESEARCH CHALLENGE, A DISEASE-FOCUSED GRANT INITIATIVE SUPPORTING NON-ANIMAL APPROACHES TO CHILDHOOD CANCER RESEARCH. ARDF ALSO CONTRIBUTES ITS EXPERTISE TO SCIENTIFIC AND POLICY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING THE ADVANCEMENT, VALIDATION, AND ADOPTION OF NON-ANIMAL METHODS. IN 2025, ARDF SUPPORTED EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE TO ACCELERATE UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN-RELEVANT APPROACHES AND TO FOSTER COLLABORATION AMONG RESEARCHERS, POLICYMAKERS, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS.