Research against medical animal experiments – tirol.ORF.at
Science
Animal experiments are still often used in medical research to test the effects of new drugs. A Tyrolean researches alternatives: Doris Wilflingseder received a state prize for this.
The professor of infection biology from the Medical University of Innsbruck was recently awarded the state prize for the promotion of alternative methods to animal experiments.
3D models instead of animal suffering for medicine
A variety of pathogens are being researched in the laboratories of the MedUni Innsbruck. The infection biologist Doris Wilflingseder deals, for example, with HIV, cold viruses, but also Sars COV-2. The active ingredients have not been tested on mice or other animals. There are also other technologies that can be used to test medical risks or therapy options.
The professor gives an example: three-dimensional models on a cellular basis. “There are already mini-brains, mini-lungs or mini-intestines, for example. Then there are three-dimensional bioprinted 3D tissues, which are made here at Med-Uni Innsbruck in the 3D bioprinting unit.”
Research with human tissue for humans
And there are other ways to test active ingredients. “What we also do is we grow cells on filters in an air-liquid phase. That then has a kind of lung in the cell culture.” For Doris Wilflinsed, research with human tissue has advantages over animal experiments: “In any case, we work with human pathogens. We want to find therapies for human diseases. In my opinion, this has many advantages because you don’t have to go into a different species,” says the infection biologist at MedUni Innsbruck.
Research is progressing quickly
Research on alternative methods to animal experiments has developed significantly in recent years. It would be a dream for the scientist if research would be possible without animal experiments at all. “It’s not possible at the moment, but I think that we can already reduce a great number of animal experiments with good cell culture models,” says the scientist with the State Prize
There is still a lack of further complexity in the models. But research in this area is developing rapidly, says Doris Wilflinsed.