Minister Polaschek Has Awarded a State Prize for Promoting Alternatives to Animal Experiments.
Prof. Dr. Michael J. Ausserlechner, a professor at the Medical University of Innsbruck, receives the State Prize for Alternative Methods to Animal Experiments in 2022.
Education Minister Martin Polaschek Has Given an Award for Alternative Methods to Animal Experimentation to Professor Michael J. Ausserlechner. / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Florian Schrötter
A publication by Michael J. Ausserlechner entitled "3D bioprinting: novel approaches to engineering complex human tissue equivalents and drug testing" has been awarded the State Prize for Alternative Methods to Animal Testing. An alternative to animal models, the award winner uses a brain tumor model made of human cells that are also equipped with blood vessels in his research work. It will be possible to test drugs on tumor tissue models modeled after patients' tumors in the future, thereby avoiding the need for animal testing.
In recognition of outstanding scientific work in alternative methods to animal experiments, Education and Science Minister Martin Polaschek congratulates: "The State Prize is awarded every year." Its purpose is to raise the profile of scientific research and to encourage all researchers to continue working in this vital field in the future."
The Austrian Federal Government has set itself the goal of promoting and accelerating the development of alternative methods to animal experimentation and has decided, among other things, to award an annual state prize for the promotion of alternative methods to animal experimentation. The State Prize honors outstanding scientific work whose results or objectives are to avoid or reduce the use of animals in animal experiments or to improve the conditions for breeding, housing, care, and use of animals in animal experiments.
The Federal Ministry of Education, Science, and Research awards the State Prize for the Promotion of Alternative Methods to Animal Experiments annually on the recommendation of an expert jury for outstanding scientific work. Those results are objective, in the sense of the "3R principle" (replace, reduce, refine) according to Russel and Burch (1959), is to avoid or reduce the use of animals in animal experiments or to improve the conditions for breeding, housing, care and use of animals in animal experiments. The state prize is endowed with 10,000 euros.