Replacement

Dr Ian Holland invented Rotational Internal Flow Layer Engineering, a technology for creating ultra-thin, tubular human cell layers that could simulate blood vessels for lab research.​ The ability to economically create layered tissue has potential as an important model for drug development and a viable alternative to animal models.

• Building layers to replace animal models

Dr Bhuvaneish T Selvaraj is investigating mechanisms underlying motor neuron disease (MND) using cutting-edge human stem cell technology. The research was made possible by an award received from The Humane Research Trust, an organisation whose mission is to advance the diagnosis and treatment of disease in humans by supporting new medical research which does not include the use of animals.

• 3D stem cell models of motor neuron disease

Edinburgh scientists have invented a novel 3D printed device that could replace the need for drug and chemical safety testing on animals. The plastic ‘body-on-chip’ device mimics how a drug moves through the body’s organs, using PET imaging to validate its journey. It was developed through a National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) and Unilever co-funded PhD Studentship.

• 'Body-on-chip’ device developed

Researchers in the University’s MRC Centre for Reproductive Health have developed a computer model of the testis to aid research into male fertility. The system simulates how cells and molecules within the testis interact for proper development and function. Researchers can use the computer programme to investigate the effects of hormones and other molecules on male fertility.

Scientists have produced stem cells from skin samples donated by people with bipolar disorder and closely related conditions, as well as members of their family that are unaffected.  The stem cells can be turned into brain cells in the laboratory, enabling scientists to study how bipolar disorder affects biological processes in the brain. The cells are being made available to scientists around the world to boost research into the condition. Experts hope this will help to reduce, and in part replace, the number of animals that are used to study the illness.

• Stem cell scheme to boost bipolar studies

A new method of studying Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in a dish will notably reduce, and in some instances replace, the number of animals needed to study the illness. Experts at the University have devised a method of studying the abnormal proteins responsible for CJD – called prions – in specialised brain cells grown from stem cells. The advance paves the way for research to find treatments for the fatal brain disorder.

• Brain cell advance brings hope for CJD

Researchers are developing a method of generating pig blood cells in the lab which could replace the need to use animals for certain aspects of research into important livestock diseases. A two-year study, supported by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), aims to better understand methods for generating  a type of white blood cell –macrophages – from pig stem cells in the lab.

• Stem cell study could curb need for animal tissue