InterNICHE wins Lush Prize
InterNICHE has been chosen as a winner for the newly established GBP 250,000 Lush Prize.
Launched this year by cosmetics company Lush, the annual Lush Prize is designed to help speed up the replacement of animal experiments for product testing with cutting-edge alternative methods that can better guarantee consumer safety.
A judging panel of scientists and campaigners provided expert opinion on applications from across the world to reward groups or individuals with outstanding achievements in the field of non-animal scientific research, testing and training (1). The prize money was split between the five categories of science, training, young researcher, public awareness and lobbying.
InterNICHE jointly won in the training category, sharing the GBP 50,000 prize with the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), a US-based organisation that provides training in advanced non-animal testing strategies to researchers and industry. InterNICHE Partner organisation VITA for Animal Rights in Russia was a joint runner-up in the public awareness category.
The judges recognised that the work of InterNICHE to replace animal experiments in the life sciences not only enhances education and saves countless animal lives, but has significant impact at the level of research and testing. Special reference was made to InterNICHE outreach and activity in Latin America, Africa, the former Soviet Union, Middle East and Asia.
InterNICHE Co-ordinator Nick Jukes said today, “We are delighted to have been awarded the Lush Prize. This is a validation of the InterNICHE vision of 100% replacement in education and training, and of the practical achievements by InterNICHE National Contacts, Partners and other volunteers in making this vision real.
“It is also a recognition of the crucial role of humane education and its impact on individuals, on society and in science. Graduates who have been trained with innovative, humane methods, and whose critical thinking and compassion have not been dulled by animal experimentation, can provide the skills necessary to help bring science fully into the 21st century - and to replace animal testing for good.”
Contact:
InterNICHE: Nick Jukes on coordinator@interniche.org or tel +44 7552 972 770
Lush Prize: Katy Brown on katy@lushprize.org or tel: +44 (0) 161 226 2929
Further information:
InterNICHE: www.interniche.org
Institute for In Vitro Sciences: www.iivs.org
Lush Prize: www.lushprize.org
Lush Prize Training Research Paper: http://www.lushprize.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Lush-Training-Prize-2012-Research-Paper-V21.pdf
Lush Prize Research Papers Executive Summaries: http://www.lushprize.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Lush-Prize-2012-Research-Paper-Executive-Summaries-Combined.pdf
Note
(1) Research conducted around the Lush Prize investigated the ‘3Rs’ of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal experiments. InterNICHE believes that the 1R of replacement is the most effective approach for education and training, with an increasing number of universities and training centres seeing humane education and alternatives as the norm. Within research and testing, Reduction and Refinement can indeed limit animal suffering, but they can also be used as tools for consolidating and perpetuating animal experiments, and can divert energy away from achievable replacement. To support the evolution of a fully humane science, the Prize rewarded those focusing on replacement only.
