NIH to Prioritize Human-Based Research Technologies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is launching a new initiative to expand innovative, human-based science while reducing animal use in research. This move aligns with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent initiative to reduce animal testing.
While traditional animal models remain vital to advancing scientific knowledge, new and emerging technologies offer unique strengths that can expand researchers’ toolboxes. These technologies include organoids, tissue chips, and other in vitro systems that model human disease and capture human variability. Computational models simulating complex biological human systems and real-world data studying health outcomes in humans are also being developed.
The initiative addresses the limitations of translating animal model results to human diseases. For instance, research on Alzheimer’s disease and cancer has shown that differences in anatomy, physiology, lifespan, and disease characteristics between humans and animals can lead to translational challenges.
“By integrating advances in data science and technology with our growing understanding of human biology, we can fundamentally reimagine the way research is conducted,” said NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. “This human-based approach will accelerate innovation, improve healthcare outcomes, and deliver life-changing treatments.”
To implement this initiative, the NIH plans to establish the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) within the NIH’s Office of the Director. ORIVA will coordinate efforts to develop, validate, and scale non-animal approaches across the agency’s biomedical research portfolio.
The NIH will also expand funding and training in non-animal approaches, make infrastructure for these methods more accessible, and participate in mitigation training to address potential bias towards animal studies. New funding opportunities will assess methods based on suitability, context of use, translatability, and human relevance. The NIH will publicly report on research spending annually to measure progress toward reducing funding for animal studies and increasing funding for human-based approaches.
