More than a Guideline: Why Compliance with the PHS Policy is not Optional
By Akosua Dufie | June 11th, 2026
“For an animal research institution seeking federal dollars, compliance with the PHS Policy is not optional. Even though the PHS Policy is not enforced through punitive measures, it is still enforceable through the quiet but potent power of funding.”
What’s Next for the Second Species?
By Loza Taye | May 28th, 2026
“Last week, our team partnered with Cruelty Free International to host Examining the Second Species in ICH M3, a two-day workshop focused on current regulatory guidelines and emerging scientific approaches in drug development.”
Professional Perspectives: Refinement of Animal Toxicology Research Techniques: Ethical and Scientific Advantages of Microsampling
By Emily Zweig | May 21st, 2026
“As animal research is gradually replaced, conventional procedures can be refined to reduce the number of animals used and improve lab animal welfare—one such technique is microsampling.”
NAMs in Industry: FDA Shows Emerging Trends in Regulatory Submissions
By Jorge Gana | May 7th, 2026
“Commitments to open science, continued funding of NAM research, and first-hand participation in NAM development are all steps industry leaders can take to ensure that technology meets the demands for new and validated, nonclinical testing. ”
Professional Perspectives: Innovation Without Cruelty: Replacing Animals with Artificial Intelligence
By Anjali Kumar | April 23th, 2026
“There are challenges and limitations to consider before implementing AI to replace animal models; however, the potential of this new technology will vastly change how we view research and testing worldwide.”
Professional Perspectives: Adverse Outcome Pathways to Contextualize Mechanistic Data for Chemical and Radiation Research
By Vinita Chauhan | April 9th, 2026
“In this sense, applying AOPs should therefore be viewed as a methodological refinement rather than a paradigm shift. It offers a systematic way to assemble mechanistic information, identify data gaps, and communicate uncertainty more clearly.”
Xenotransplantation and the Future of Organ Supply: A Case for Human-Derived Alternatives
By CriShaun Hardy | March 26th, 2026
“Xenotransplantation is not the only scientific pathway being explored to address organ scarcity and perhaps should not be society’s first choice.””
Our Tiny Allies in Toxicological Testing Part 3 – Small Flowering Plants as Alternative Models
By Aaradhya Diwan | March 12th, 2026
“Should the scientific community seek to incorporate Arabidopsis thaliana more formally into a battery of tests for evaluating environmental toxicity, there would need to be increased effort to coordinate and standardize laboratory conditions across its use in toxicity studies.”
The Production of Antivenom and Implementing the 3Rs
By Mariah Bowman | February 26th, 2026
“This is why toxicovenomics is important – identifying the type of venom and the proteins involved helps produce antivenoms that are ethical, consistent with the 3Rs, and potentially more effective.”
SEC v. Jarkesy: What Does It Mean for Laboratory Animals?
By Blair Eagleson | February 12th, 2026
“Agencies such as the USDA should continue to use civil penalties through administrative proceedings unless future rulings explicitly curtail their authority to do so.”
Not Just Test Subjects: Remembering Laboratory Animals
By Daria Bednarczyk | January 29th, 2026
“Choosing to remember laboratory animals does not reject science; it reminds us to pursue research with greater humanity, grounding discovery and innovation in the millions of animal lives sacrificed in the name of progress.”
What Cruelty-Free Labels Truly Mean
By Caiden Feldman | January 15th, 2026
"Without regulatory standards, cruelty-free labeling reflects marketing strategies rather than scientific standards.”
Image by alvaro_cabrera
Xenotransplantation: Clinical Progress and a Need for Regulation
By CriShaun Hardy | December 18th, 2025
"As xenotransplantation moves forward in formal clinical trials, greater consideration must be given to how future regulation and ethics will shape the evaluation of its feasibility and long-term integration into the organ transplantation framework.”
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) in the Animal Industry
By Richelle Romanchik | December 4th, 2025
"As regulations and industry standards continue to evolve, we must not lose sight of the people who care for these animals and carry out the daily work of in vivo toxicological studies... If we fail to adequately protect the workers in these facilities, how can we expect them to protect the animals entrusted to their care?.”
Reflections on “From Deference to Deliberation”
By Loza Taye | November 13th, 2025
"...it's still too soon to know the exact effects of Loper Bright, but one thing is already clear: the balance between expertise and interpretation is shifting. The era of automatic deference may be over, but the work of deliberation has only just begun.”
Image from Supreme Court of The United States
Reflecting on the 33rd Animal Law Conference
By Daria Bednarczyk, Blair Eagleson, CriShaun Hardy, Akosua Dufie, Matthew Durthaler, Zachary Liebowitz, and Rebecca Critser | October 30th, 2025
“...our team hopes to strengthen our shared mission and continue growing as individual professionals dedicated to ethical, evidence-based progress.”
Image provided by Shannon Dixon
AOPs, Space, and In-Silico
By Awurakua Asamoah-Mensah | October 16th, 2025
"AOP development is pivotal in guiding regulatory decisions, bridging knowledge gaps, and predicting stimulus impact. Further integrating new approach methodologies, such as in-silico models, into research will enhance AOP development, offering novel and relevant contributions to science, medicine, and policy."
Image by WikiImages
World Congress on Alternative 13: A Critical Incubator for the Development of New Approach Methodologies
By Rebecca Critser | October 2nd, 2025
“[Policy and law] conversations will become especially important as the field moves rapidly out of the research and development phase and into the implementation phase.”
Image by Rebecca Critser
Professional Perspectives: A New Federal Bill Would Bring Government-Funded Animal Experiments Out of the Shadows
By Sadie Jacobs | September 18th, 2025
“The public has a right to know how taxpayer money is being used—especially when it involves sentient beings enduring pain and distress in government-funded experiments. The FARA Act provides a practical, bipartisan solution to a long-standing problem: the lack of transparency in federal animal experiments.”
Image by Paul Locke
Transitioning to Human-Centered Science: An Off-Ramp and Transition Plan
By Paul Locke | September 4th, 2025
“For those of us who have been advocating for the development, use and adoption of human centered NAMs, the Roadmap and these announcements are a breath of fresh air. It seems that – finally – the federal government has turned the corner. But talking the talk is not enough. The transition to human centered science and away from animal testing needs an implementation plan …”
Image by FDA