CAAT Humane Education and Reduction Awards
CAAT’s Beyond Classical Refinement Program, led by Kathrin Herrmann, PhD, has been awarding two annual grants for Reduction of animal experiments and for humane education.
CAAT Reduction Grant 2025 – Awardee
CAAT is pleased to announce Dr. Camila Coelho, PhD, MBA, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, as a recipient of the CAAT Reduction Grant 2025 for her project:
“Human Tonsil Organoids as a Next-Generation Platform for Monoclonal Antibody Expression Replacing Mouse Hybridomas.”
The project has been awarded USD 6,000 to support the development and validation of a fully human, animal-free platform for monoclonal antibody generation—addressing both ethical concerns and scientific limitations associated with traditional animal-based hybridoma technology.
Conventional hybridoma methods require the use of dozens of mice or rabbits to generate monoclonal antibodies against a single antigen, involving animal immunization, cell fusion, and extensive screening. Beyond the ethical burden, these approaches often fail to adequately reflect the diversity and specificity of human immune responses.
Dr. Coelho’s project aims to establish a human-relevant alternative using human tonsil organoids. Derived from immune-cell–rich tissue, these organoids recreate key features of secondary lymphoid organs, enabling human B cells to be activated, undergo affinity maturation, and secrete antibodies ex vivo.
The platform will be applied using the A35 protein from the monkeypox virus (MPXV), a well-characterized antigen in Dr. Coelho’s laboratory. Previously isolated A35-specific human monoclonal antibodies from mpox-convalescent donors (Fantin et al., Cell, 2025) will serve as quality controls to validate antibodies generated by the organoids.
If successful, this project will demonstrate the feasibility of replacing traditional hybridoma methods with a more ethical, human-based system for discovering therapeutically meaningful monoclonal antibodies.
CAAT Humane Education Grant 2025 – Awardee
CAAT is pleased to announce Te Protejo, a Latin American NGO working at the intersection of science, policy, and advocacy to advance non-animal methods and humane education, as the recipient of the CAAT Humane Education Grant 2025 for its project:
“The Ethical Teaching Project – Implementing Animal-Free Teaching Methods and Developing a Conscientious Objection Guide.”
The project has been awarded USD 6,000 to support the implementation of a pilot program at a major Mexican university. Funding will contribute to the acquisition of animal-free educational models, on-site faculty training, and the development of teaching and student-support materials.
Animal use in higher education remains widespread in parts of Latin America, often requiring students to perform invasive procedures on live animals despite the availability of more accurate, ethical, and human-relevant alternatives. This project seeks to address this gap by modernizing teaching practices and embedding humane education at an institutional level.
Developed by Te Protejo in collaboration with the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS), The Ethical Teaching Project begins with a structured diagnostic and mapping phase. This includes curriculum and protocol review, interviews and surveys with key academic stakeholders, and systematic documentation of how animals are currently used in teaching, with a focus on human health and veterinary programs.
Based on this diagnostic phase, priority courses will be identified where full replacement of animal use is feasible. Potential alternatives will be assessed against learning objectives, cost, infrastructure requirements, and implementation needs to ensure that animal-free methods meet—and where possible enhance—pedagogical outcomes. Faculty will receive targeted training and ongoing support to integrate these methods sustainably into teaching practice.
A central component of the project is the development of a national Conscientious Objection Guide for Mexican students. The guide will provide legal and institutional references, step-by-step practical guidance, model letters, and examples of available animal-free alternatives, empowering students to exercise their rights while supporting educators in recognizing non-animal methods as valid pedagogical tools.
If successful, The Ethical Teaching Project will demonstrate a scalable model for humane, modern life-science education, with the potential to replace thousands of animals annually and strengthen regional capacity for the adoption of non-animal methods (NAMs).
CAAT Grants 2025 – Jury
Both 2025 awardees were selected by an independent, international, and interdisciplinary jury with expertise in animal welfare, non-animal methods, education, and biomedical research ethics:
- Luisa Bastos, PhD — Eurogroup for Animals (Animals in Science) (Belgium)
- Catharine Krebs, PhD — Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (US)
- Lindsay Marshall, PhD — Humane World for Animals (US)
- Itzy Morales Pantoja, PhD — Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (US)
- Francesca Pistollato, PhD — Humane World for Animals (Europe)
- Pandora Pound, PhD — Safer Medicines Trust (UK)
- Maren Schenke, PhD — Constructor University Bremen (Germany)
- Nick Jukes — International Network for Humane Education (UK)
- Kathrin Herrmann, PhD — Program Lead for CAAT Grants
The next call for applications for the CAAT Reduction Grant and the CAAT Humane Education Grant will open in mid-2026.
- The Reduction Grant ($6,000) is given to a research project that helps reduce animal use by identifying areas of research and testing where animal models lack reproducibility and translational value.
- The Humane Education Grant ($6,000) is awarded for the development of animal-free training resources for veterinary, medical or laboratory courses.
Each grant includes prize money of $6,000 USD.
The proposal should include a detailed description of the planned study and its anticipated outcomes. It should provide sufficient detail so reviewers can understand what is being proposed and how the data will be evaluated and used. The proposal should not exceed ten pages, including any supplemental information (except for the CV). A breakdown of the proposed budget, including additional funding sources that are needed to conduct the study must be included.
Proposal Format Guidelines:
- Title of proposed study
- Name and position of applicant(s), including CV
- Institution name
- Contact information
- Proposal details (see above)
Review Criteria:
- Impact on animal protection
- Innovation of proposal
- Likelihood of obtaining publishable data within the proposed timeframe
- Scope of applicability and impact
- Quality of study design
Acceptance of this award implies that funds for the specific research are not currently available from other sources. It is anticipated that successful applicants will submit a manuscript of their project and its outcome to a professional journal.
Applications will be reviewed by an international group of experts. CAAT then will make the final decisions on the proposal(s) to be funded. The applicants will be informed about the review committee’s decision end of October 2024. CAAT reserves the right not to bestow an award.