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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

We are optimistic that this chapter will help advance conversations about fair, rigorous evaluation of human-based science. We hope you give it a read and share it with your networks! Send us a message if you’re having trouble accessing it.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

It also offers practical recommendations for mitigating animal methods bias in publishing, funding, and institutional decision-making. We're excited to see animal methods bias recognized as an important topic in a major reference work on nonanimal approaches!

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

In addition to reviewing the COLAAB's work to define & document animal methods bias, this chapter examines the historical & systemic factors that sustain it. It places the bias within wider conversations about peer review, scientific conservatism, publication bias, & research incentives.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Exciting news! 🥳 We're delighted to share that COLAAB members @ertrunnell.bsky.social and Catharine E. Krebs have published a new textbook chapter on animal methods bias. www.sciencedirect.com/science/chap...

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

We founded the COLAAB to build empirical evidence of the issue and bias mitigation campaigns, ultimately aimed at removing barriers to the broader adoption of powerful, animal-free technologies. Learn more about our work at AnimalMethodsBias.org.

animalmethodsbias.org

Home | COLAAB

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

As COLAAB member Dr. @kathrinherrmann.bsky.social says, “the formal requirement [to use animals] may disappear, but the informal expectation persists.” One underlying factor is #AnimalMethodsBias, when research is unfairly evaluated because it doesn’t include animal experiments.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Speaking with @brandonkeim.bsky.social, Dr. Don Ingber, director of the @wyssinstitute.bsky.social & co-founder of @emulatebio.bsky.social shares how more than 15 years ago, his team’s lung-on-a-chip paper was rejected until they included tests on mice.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Have you ever had a peer review go poorly because you didn’t include animal experiments? Even the organ chip pioneer himself has. Despite the increasing momentum of nonanimal approaches, animal use is still deeply engrained—in regulatory guidance, in funding strategies, and in scientific culture.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

If your research involves organoids, organs-on-chips, computational modeling, advanced cell and tissue systems, or other nonanimal approaches, consider signing up! ✍ redcap.nih.gov/surveys/?s=K... #NIH #NAMs #GrantReview #AnimalMethodsBias 🧪 🧬

redcap.nih.gov

Human-Based Reviewer Recruitment

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

As the NIH receives more human-based proposals, it must integrate more experts in human-based methods in the review process and ensure review panels aren’t stacked with animal experimentation expertise.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Our research has shown that mismatches between reviewer expertise and proposed methodologies may disadvantage nonanimal approaches. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... That’s because appropriate expertise is crucial for evaluating study quality, model choice, and technical methodological details.

biorxiv.org

Predominance of animal-based expertise may bias NIH neuroscience grant review: A pilot study with implications for non-animal methodologies

Despite increased enthusiasm for research methods that can replace the use of animals, the numbers of animals used in science and the funding for animal-based projects remain high. Our work addresses ...

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

📢 A welcome and important step! NIH is seeking experts in human-based science to review research proposals. This announcement reflects the COLAAB's consistent recommendation that the agency ensure grant reviewers have the methodological expertise needed to fairly assess nonanimal approaches. 🧪

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

⚠️ UPDATE! Since we first shared this opportunity, NIH has launched a dedicated webpage for experts in human-based science to express interest in peer review. Please use this new application link: redcap.nih.gov/surveys/?s=K...

redcap.nih.gov

Human-Based Reviewer Recruitment

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

redcap.nih.gov

Human-Based Reviewer Recruitment

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Reposted by Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias

Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

NIH also announced plans to implement recommendations from @thecolaab.bsky.social, including efforts to bring greater human-based science expertise into grant review.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

One thing is for sure. If you want to see the broader adoption of NAMs, 🫵 your expertise 🫵 is needed on a review panel near you. We hope you consider saying yes to your next invitation to participate. #AnimalMethodsBias #ResearchPolicy #AcademicChatter

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Reviewers deserve to be recognized for their crucial contribution to the research enterprise (and we don’t just mean shout outs and praise for one week out of the year 😉). Compensation might even improve quality and reduce bias. We’re eager to see more evidence on this.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We’re not saying you should say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. In the AI era, grant and manuscript submissions are on the rise, making it harder than ever to meet the demand for reviewers. In the U.S., funding is precarious, adding strain to researchers’ competing priorities.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We encourage you to say “YES” to participating in: 📑 Manuscript peer review 💰 Funding review groups 🎤 Conference abstract review 🤝 Hiring, tenure, and dissertation committees 🔎 Anywhere else research is assessed

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

If you use new approach methodologies (NAMs) or other nonanimal methods in your research, your expertise is needed to provide fair assessments of other researchers’ use of those same approaches—to adequately evaluate research quality, model choice, and technical methodological details.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This #PeerReviewWeek, we’re reminding you about the important role you play in preventing peer review bias, just by saying yes to review opportunities. 🧵 #peerreview #academicsky #phdsky

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

🫵 You can help us do that, all while remaining completely anonymous, if you choose. Share your story with us here and please spread the word! www.animalmethodsbias.org/index.php/sh... 🧪 🔬 #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter #BiomedicalResearch #ResearchIntegrity #AnimalMethodsBias

animalmethodsbias.org

Share Your Story

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Animal methods bias creates an unfair landscape for researchers who use nonanimal approaches, standing in the way of improved translation and leading to unnecessary animal use. Addressing animal methods bias requires that we understand it holistically.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

If you said yes, you've experienced animal methods bias—when research is unfairly evaluated because it does not include animal-based experiments—and we want to hear from you! 🫵

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

📄 Has a reviewer ever told you to add an animal experiment to your study? 🐁 Has an advisor told you that you have to use animals to advance your career? 💸 Has a grant application of yours been rejected because it didn’t involve animals?

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

For more information, check out NICEATM's newsletter from earlier this week: list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.e... #studysection #NIH #peerreview #NAMs

list.nih.gov

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

For example, you may choose to mention research approach expertise, previous review experience, study sections in which you would be particularly interested in participating, professional identifiers such as ORCID, or any other information that you believe would help NIH understand your expertise.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

You are also welcome to include a brief note containing any additional information you would like NIH to consider when evaluating your potential fit for peer review activities. No particular information, format, or length is required.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

If you are interested in being considered for NIH peer review opportunities, please email your current CV or completed Biographical Sketch Common Form to elizabeth.baker2@nih.gov and ricardo.scheufentieghi@nih.gov.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

🔬 Please help spread the word! Appropriate expertise is crucial for evaluating study quality, model choice, and technical methodological details. As the agency receives more human-based proposals, review group composition must adapt to avoid animal methods bias and ensure fair funding outcomes.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

📢 NIH is seeking reviewers for human-based science grant proposals! The U.S. National Institutes of Health is seeking scientists with expertise in human-based research approaches who may be interested in serving as grant reviewers and contributing to the NIH peer review process.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Changing incentives changes behavior. If scientific assessment rewards rigor, transparency, reproducibility, and human relevance, researchers will be empowered to use the methods best suited to answering the question at hand, without worrying about expectations and bibliometrics. 5/5 #SciPub

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The reforms discussed in the article (preprints, open peer review, research assessment frameworks like those promoted by @dorassessment.bsky.social, etc.) could help shift attention back to the evidence itself. As a result, they could also help to mitigate animal methods bias. 4/5

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

When experiments on animals are treated as a marker of rigor or completeness, publication incentives can drive additional animal use regardless of whether those data are necessary to address the research question. 3/5

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

As we've found in our surveys*, researchers pursuing publication in high-impact journals can face increased pressure to add experiments on animals in anticipation of—or in response to—reviewer requests for them. * www.altex.org/index.php/al... ; www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 2/5

altex.org

A survey to assess animal methods bias in scientific publishing | ALTEX - Alternatives to Animal Experimentation

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

📈 Evaluate scientific impact using health outcomes, policy influence, and translational success rather than journal-based metrics NIH has identified human-based technologies as a research priority. Review and assessment frameworks shouldn't stand in the way of that direction.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

🌐 Reward open science practices, data sharing, preregistration, and publication of null results 🎓 Expand training in human-based methods and increase reviewer expertise in these approaches 🤝 Measure methodological diversity alongside disciplinary diversity in collaborative science

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

🧬 Assess proposed methodologies based on human relevance, context of use, and translatability 📖 Require evidence-based justification when reviewers argue that the absence of experiments on animals is a weakness 🔍 Track and address animal methods bias in peer review and funding decisions

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Our recommendations focused on ensuring that review and funding processes evaluate research based on methodological suitability and translational value rather than adherence to historical norms or biases. We urged NIH to...

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Scientific impact should be measured by rigor, transparency, and translatability. Last week, the COLAAB submitted comments to NIH's RFI on Measuring and Rewarding Scientific Impact. See what we recommended ⬇️ #SciencePolicy #PeerReview #ResearchAssessment #ScientificImpact #AnimalMethodsBias

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Mitigating #AnimalMethodsBias is critical for creating viable pathways for scientists seeking to work in human-based science and broadening opportunities for researchers already working in the field. Read the testimonial: www.justifyglobal.org/desperately-... #ScienceCareers

justifyglobal.org

Desperately Trapped | Justify

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Researchers whose work aligns with established norms are often better positioned to secure publications, funding, and career advancement, reinforcing the status quo and shaping opportunities for the next generation of scientists.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Peer review, funding decisions, training programs, hiring practices, and institutional incentives all together influence which scientific skills are valued and which career paths are accessible. #ResearchCulture

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The result is profound #MoralDistress. Scientists are sometimes told that career advancement requires mastering animal-based approaches. They may become highly specialized in techniques they would prefer to leave behind. Skill mobility becomes harder and professional opportunities narrow.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

They describe feeling stuck in a career structure that rewards expertise in animal experiments, creates dependence on using animals after years of training and professional investment, and makes asking to change directions difficult due to vulnerable socioeconomic circumstances.

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

In this powerful testimony shared as part of Justify's Portraits from the Lab series (www.justifyglobal.org/portraitsfro...), a cancer researcher describes feeling trapped in a role centered on animal experiments despite asking to transition toward human-focused clinical research.

justifyglobal.org

Portraits from the Lab | Justify

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Animal methods bias often looks like peer reviewer pressure to use animals. But it can also come from supervisors or colleagues, with more damaging career consequences. 🧑‍🔬 From Justify's Portraits from the Lab series. 🧵 🧪 #PhDChat #PhDLife #PhDsky #AnimalMethodsBias

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Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias @thecolaab.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Whether you’re an early-career researcher, experienced reviewer, editor, or educator, this webinar offers a unique opportunity to learn from one of the most influential scholars working to improve the quality and credibility of scientific research. 🙌

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