Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, a non-profit research institute in Maine, is funding a new initiative to increase the use of nonmammalian models in early drug development. The initiative, dubbed MDI Bioscience, aims to turn to species like zebrafish (Danio rerio), C. elegans, axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum), and African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) to evaluate potential therapeutic compounds at scale before they’re tested in mammals or enter human clinical trials, potentially hastening and honing the decision-making process in early drug discovery and reducing the reliance on mammals such as mice. MDI Bioscience hopes to evaluate drugs before money is spent on costly mammal research, to speed the drug development process, and reduce the number of mammals, and animals in general, used in scientific research. Jim Strickland, the director of MDI Bioscience, says that these goals are aligned the general research practice to reduce, replace, and refine (three R’s) animals in research. ...
Oust the Mouse: A Plan to Reduce Mammal Use in Drug Development
The Scientist spoke to Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory’s Jim Strickland about the institute’s new MDI Bioscience initiative to perform more drug testing and development in nonmammalian models.
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Zebrafish (Danio rerio) juvenile, serotonin cells stained with green fluorescent protein
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As she was completing her graduate thesis on the neuroscience of vision, Natalia found that she loved to talk to other people about how science impacts them. This passion led Natalia to take up writing and science communication, and she has contributed to outlets including Scientific American and the Broad Institute. Natalia completed her PhD in neuroscience at the University of Washington and graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. She was previously an intern at The Scientist, and currently freelances from her home in Seattle.
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