Award for 3-D Human Tissue Models or Alveolar Macrophages to Assess Toxicity or Drug Efficacy in Respiratory Tract

PETA Science Consortium International and Epithelix invite you to apply to win three-dimensional reconstructed human respiratory tissues from Epithelix. The human cell–based tissue models by Epithelix mimic various regions of the respiratory tract and can be used for testing cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical device extracts, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and household products.

The deadline to apply for this award is 10 May 2024, and the award winner will be announced later that month.

The Award

• The Science Consortium will choose one winner based on their proposal’s scientific merit and potential to replace the use of animals in inhalation testing.
• The winner will receive a US$15,000 (€15,237) award redeemable for Epithelix tissues (MucilAir, SmallAir, or AlveolAir) and/or primary human alveolar macrophages (at standard commercial prices).

Eligibility

• Researchers from any sector (e.g. industry, academia, government, and non-governmental organisations) are encouraged to apply.
• The award is open to residents of any country. Must be 18 or older. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. By applying, you are acknowledging that you have read and agreed to our contest terms and conditions and privacy policy.

How to Apply

Please use the form below to submit the following documents by 10 May 2024.

• The applicant’s CV (five or fewer pages) and a brief bio (200 or fewer words)
• A proposal (1,000 or fewer words) addressing the following:
  • Tissues you are requesting (one or more tissue types representing different regions of the respiratory tract)
  • Whether you are currently using Epithelix tissues and/or other models in your research
  • Scientific advantages and limitations of using an Epithelix model for your research
  • Information regarding the test substance and endpoints to be assessed
  • How your work will replace the use of animals in inhalation tests
  • Your plan for disseminating the data generated using the Epithelix tissues

Previous Award Recipients

PETA Science Consortium International and Epithelix have awarded researchers three-dimensional reconstructed human respiratory tissues from Epithelix. Epithelix’s human cell–based tissue models mimic different regions of the respiratory tract and can be used for testing cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical device extracts, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and household products.

2023

Dr Suzanne Cloonan of Trinity College Dublin received a $15,000 (~€15,237) award redeemable for Epithelix tissues (MucilAir, SmallAir, or AlveolAir) and/or primary human alveolar macrophages. She will use the tissues to test the effects of cigarette smoke and bacterial infection in the context of lung diseases.

“There is an urgent need to develop in vitro models that physiologically, metabolically and immunologically mimic the alveolar space. This award will allow us to try and develop such a model to test new therapeutic interventions for infectious exacerbations in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease.”— Dr Suzanne Cloonan

2018

First Place ($5,000 award)

Kristine Nishida, from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, will expose the 3-D tissues to cigarette smoke to elucidate the mechanism underlying the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She will also study tissues from human donors with COPD to gain a deeper understanding of the disease pathogenesis and how to reverse the effects.

“I am so honored to receive this wonderful award! The MucilAir cells will allow us to elucidate the mechanisms that occur in human cells isolated from several different COPD and non-diseased donors in a fully differentiated air-liquid interface culture. We will be able to expose the tissues at air-liquid interface to whole cigarette smoke and fully detail the changes that occur in the epithelium that we couldn’t otherwise do in an animal model.”— Kristine Nishida

Second Place ($2,500 award each)

Dr Chang Guo, Public Health England, will use the tissues for toxicity testing of carbon nanotubes.

Dr Richard Gminski, University of Freiburg, will use the tissues to evaluate the efficacy of drugs on Klebsiella pneumoniae, an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that poses a health threat to hospital patients worldwide.