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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 12m

Read more in this perspective piece by Maria D. Cabrera and Andrea C. del Valle of Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and @stockholm-uni.bsky.social 👇

doi.org/10.3389/frlc...

Frontiers | Organs-on-a-chip for global equity: a perspective from Guatemala on advancing biomedical research in resource-limited settings

Animal models have long supported biomedical research, particularly in the development of drugs and preclinical testing. Yet, persistent discrepancies betwee...

doi.org

Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 12m

Experiments on animals aren't just ethically & scientifically flawed, they're costly. 💲

Animal facilities are expensive to build & run, especially in low-resource settings.

Affordable alternatives like #organsonchips can reduce suffering, boost relevance, & support global equity in science. 🧪

A black, green, and blue graphic titled, “Advancing Organ-Chips in Resource-Limited Settings.” The following points are listed under benefits to be gained: Reduced reliance on costly animal research infrastructure; More accurate modeling of region-specific health burdens; More efficient use of physical infrastructure; Greater scalability and amenability to automation; Enhanced predictive power of preclinical testing; Greater participation in global biomedical research. The following points are listed under strategies for implementation: Establishment of regional manufacturing hubs to lower costs and reduce the need for device importation; Development of international training partnerships to build local expertise and support sustainable knowledge transfer; Advancement of modular, user-friendly device designs to decrease technical barriers; Alignment with international regulatory standards to facilitate validation while ensuring consistency. Adapted from Cabrera & de Valle, 2025; DOI: 10.3389/frlct.2025.1669220.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 1d

Grateful to support @whenwejustify.bsky.social and watch their critical movement grow. Thanks for inviting me to contribute my story, @madelinekrasno.bsky.social !

Justify @whenwejustify.bsky.social · 2d

✨ This Just In: @ertrunnell.bsky.social shares why she no longer defends the animal research she was once trained to do—and how she’s helping end animal methods bias.

📖 Read her powerful story: www.whenwejustify.org/post/the-sci...

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 2d

"These findings indicated that the patient-derived neuronal model system developed in the study recapitulates the typical neuropathological changes detected in the brains of frontotemporal dementia patients"

#NAMs

Ian Kremer @leadcoalition.bsky.social · 2d

Synaptic changes in the brains of patients with frontotemporal dementia can be modeled in patient-derived neurons in the laboratory uef.fi/en/article/s...

#FTD #genetics #science #neuroscience #NeuroSkyence

Synaptic changes in the brains of patients with frontotemporal dementia can be modelled in patient-derived neurons in the laboratory

Neurons produced from frontotemporal dementia patients’ skin biopsies using modern stem cell technology recapitulate the synaptic loss and dysfunction detected in the patients’ brains.

uef.fi

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Reposted by Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D.

WellBeing International, Inc. @wellbeingintl.bsky.social · 2d

This article maps the evolution from early calls to reduce animal testing toward today’s flourishing nonanimal technologies—organoids, in silico models, microphysiological systems. It shows that what once seemed aspirational is increasingly standard. READ ON: bit.ly/WBN-lab-anim...

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 3d

🚀 The future of #Biotech is 3D, with #organoids + #AI driving a shift in skill demand.

As FDA & NIH embrace human‑relevant models, researchers who merge wet‑lab organoid expertise with computational fluency will lead the next era of translational science.

#NAMs 🧪

news.biobuzz.io/2025/10/07/o...

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 3d

Animal models fail to reflect the complex disabilities and factors like motivation that shape human rehabilitation science.

In August, we urged #NIH to prioritize human-relevant, non-animal methods in rehabilitation research.

Read our full response:
www.scienceadvancement.org/wp-content/u...

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 3d

There's a lot to unpack here, some of which is summarized in the graphic above.

Sit down with a coffee or a cocktail this weekend and give it a full read.

🔚

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A sociological perspective on the challenges of displacing animal research within academia: the contribution of Bourdieu

The use of non-animal, new approach methodologies (NAMs) is increasing but there has been no associated decrease in animal use. Reasons may include th…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 3d

This shift in language matters.

“Replacement” implies there’s something that must be preserved.

“Displacement” reframes the goal: not to replicate animal models, but to move beyond them toward more innovative, human-relevant approaches.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 3d

Pound also calls for a rethink in how we talk about change.

Rather than using “replacement” (which still treats animal experimentation as the default), she suggests “displacement” — a term that signals the intent to phase it out entirely.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 3d

She explores how academics' "reluctance to relinquish their models" is a defensive tactic, given that "the animal research field is fully open to external forces and its autonomy and legitimacy are at risk as never before."

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 3d

Most animals used in experimentation are still in academic settings.

Pound argues this isn’t due to scientific necessity, but because the enculturated paradigm is a powerful source of symbolic and economic capital, due to its history and systems of inertia.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 3d

In a powerful new article, Pandora Pound of @safermedicines.org uses sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas on power and legitimacy to ask why animal experimentation still dominates academia—despite scientific advances and increasing external pressure for change.

🧵

#sociology #scipol #philsci 🧪

Graphic titled, “Applying Bourdieu’s concepts to displacing animal experimentation in academia.” Adapted from Pound 2025, DOI: 10.1016/j.namjnl.2025.10005. Four concepts for action are discussed: dilute dominant powers; disrupt existing habitus; rethink scientific capital; and fully comply with laws. In the background are images of crumpled paper, a photo of a rat, and a hand holding a megaphone.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

By Niarakis et al., including:
@athinacp.bsky.social
@eirini-tsirvouli.bsky.social
@hasanbalci.bsky.social
@ozanozisik.bsky.social
@arnaumontagud.bsky.social
@subbannayya.bsky.social
@mkutmon.bsky.social

Learn about their 5-year plan: www.immunoinformaticsjournal.com/article/S266...

Building Immune Digital Twins: An International and Transdisciplinary Community Effort

Digital twins, initially developed for industrial applications, are set to make significant advancements in medicine and healthcare. They have demonstrated promising potential for drug development and...

www.immunoinformaticsjournal.com

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

An international team of immunologists, clinicians, experimentalists, computational biologists, and engineers is building an Immune Digital Twin to transform human healthcare for immune-mediated diseases.

#ImmunoSky #DigitalTwin 🧪

Figure two from the paper linked below: The BIDT WG and connected Systems Biology communities.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

Stronger penalties are needed, but even more critical is speeding the transition to non-animal methods that deliver human-relevant results and avoid the involvement and suffering of animals entirely.

🔚

www.scienceadvancement.org/research-mod...

Research Modernization NOW - Science Advancement and Outreach Division

pproximately 47% of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, which oversees Americans' health, funds experiments on animals. We need a better way—and our scientists have devised it.

www.scienceadvancement.org

Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

Mary Hollingsworth of @harvardanimallaw.bsky.social argues that fines need to go through federal courts, not USDA judges.

Federal judges are far more likely to impose meaningful penalties.

In the last Congress, a bill sought to give the DOJ that authority, but it never got a vote.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

📋 @david-grimm.bsky.social reported that USDA inspectors have lost one-third of their workforce, even as the number of facilities needing inspection has doubled.

But enforcement didn’t just weaken; it nearly stopped.

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www.science.org/content/arti...

Facing ‘impossible’ workload, USDA struggles to oversee lab animal welfare

Shrinking staff and other handicaps threaten enforcement of federal law that protects research animals

www.science.org

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

Examples of violations:

• Primates at Alpha Genesis died after their fingers & toes got trapped in cages.

• Others were killed after being placed in the wrong enclosures.

• Labs that fail to provide anesthesia or adequate veterinary care are often only warned.

4/

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

Even for animals who are covered, like primates or dogs, enforcement has collapsed.

According to an @awionline.org analysis, the USDA increasingly issues “warnings” instead of fines, even when animals die from neglect or mismanagement.

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awionline.org/sites/defaul...

Cover of the linked AWI Report: Trends in Animal Welfare Act Enforcement, featuring a closeup of a beagle on a blue background.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

Enforced by the USDA, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is the only federal law setting minimum care standards for animals in labs.

But the AWA excludes most species used in experimentation—including rats, mice, fish, and birds—who make up over 95% of all animals.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 4d

According to a new analysis, USDA enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, which has always been sub-par, is getting worse.

For @voxdotcom.bsky.social, @kennytorrella.bsky.social examines how animals—particularly those in U.S. labs—are paying the price.

🧵

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Animal abusers are getting off easy

How Trump and his Supreme Court made a big problem even worse.

www.vox.com

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 7d

👥 also:
@reginahoo.bsky.social
@rosswaller.bsky.social
@df-antoran.bsky.social

🏛️
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social
@loke-ctr.bsky.social
@scicambridge.bsky.social
@gurdoninstitute.bsky.social
@araid-research.bsky.social

More from @elias-ruizmor.bsky.social 👉 bsky.app/profile/elia...

Elias R. Ruiz-Morales @elias-ruizmor.bsky.social · 20d

🚀 Thrilled to kick off my Bluesky feed with some exciting science!

Are you (or your colleagues) working with ex vivo tissue culture or tissue infection models? 🧫🦠
We just published a new protocol in @cp-starprotocols.bsky.social 🎉

star-protocols.cell.com/protocols/4475

Cell Press: STAR Protocols

STAR Protocols is an open access, peer-reviewed journal from Cell Press. We offer structured, transparent, accessible, and repeatable step-by-step experimental and computational protocols from all are...

star-protocols.cell.com

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 7d

In @cp-starprotocols.bsky.social, @elias-ruizmor.bsky.social & colleagues describe how to use human placental explants in infection studies.

Their method supports the culture of larger explants, preserves key cell traits, & maintains high viability.

doi.org/10.1016/j.xp...

#ClinMicro #IDSky 🧪

Graphical abstract from linked protocol by Ruiz-Morales et al (2025). Ruiz-Morales ER, Hoo R, Waller RF, et al. Protocol for a human placental explant model to study acute responses to pathogens. STAR Protoc. Published online September 17, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2025.104097

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 7d

AI can transform cancer research—but only if trained on human-relevant data.

In July, SAO urged #NCI to ensure #AI benchmarks are developed using human cells, tissues, & patient data, not from experiments on animals.

See the full response: www.scienceadvancement.org/wp-content/u...

#OncSky 🧪

Screenshot from linked PDF. Under the Science Advancement & Outreach letterhead, the following text: "Request for Information (RFI): Benchmarks for Artificial Intelligence in Cancer Research and Care (NOT-CA-25-037) Submitted by email to CancerAI@mail.nih.gov on July 22, 2025 We are writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which has more than 10.4 million members and supporters globally, to urge the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to ensure that the datasets used to develop AI benchmarks for cancer research consist of clinical and human-based model data, such as those derived from human cells, tissues, and patient populations. This recommendation is rooted in longstanding concerns about the translatability of cancer research conducted on animals. Despite significant investment in cancer experiments on animals, the success rate for oncology drugs remains below 10%—a strikingly low figure that reflects a systemic failure in current preclinical modeling strategies.1"