Past research projects

Safety testing

FRAME studies demand for animals in the development and safety testing of a wide range of substances and how the Three Rs can be applied to reduce, refine or replace animal use.

• The EU Chemicals Policy (REACH) and its impact on the number of animals used for safety testing
• Testing endocrine disrupting chemicals and environmental pollutants
• The lethal dose test (LD50)& botulinum toxin used in cosmetic surgery
• Food additives testing
• Testing complex mixtures and nanoparticles without using animals

Use of sentient animals

A series of projects focus on how different species and strains of animals are used for medical and biomedical research that look at the relevance and animal welfare consequences of these studies.

• Primates in research and testing
• Genetically modified animals as models of human disease
• Dogs and regulatory testing
• Animals used to develop and test biopharmaceuticals and vaccines
• Cats in neurobiological research

New technologies

There have been many important developments in several fields of research that have resulted in methods that have so far had limited application in terms of reducing, refining and replacing animal studies. FRAME is currently looking at how these developments can be made more widely available and used to implement the Three Rs.

• Cell and tissue engineering towards alternatives research
• Biomarkers and the 3Rs

Humans as alternatives to animals

Species differences often confound the extrapolation of information from animal studies to humans as a way of predicting human safety and efficacy. Studies on human cells, tissues and volunteers are generally more relevant. FRAME has a number of projects that look at:

• The use of human cells and tissues
• Human studies as alternatives to studies in animals