Research Roundtable: Rethinking the Role of Animals in Molecular Biology

This webinar will be hosted live and available on-demand

Wednesday, January 28th, 2026
3:30 - 4:30 PM ET

From studying disease mechanisms to testing new therapeutics, animal models have long served as essential tools in molecular biology research. However, animal models have limitations, including challenges in accurately representing human biology and ethical and practical constraints. As a result, scientists are now exploring alternative approaches such as stem cells, organoids, and computational models.

In this live roundtable webinar, Joseph Wu, Donald Ingber, Shannon Mumenthaler, and Xiling Shen will discuss the emerging animal alternatives, the ethical considerations driving this shift, and the practical challenges of reducing, refining, and replacing animals in experiments.

Joseph Wu, MD, PhD
Director, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute
Simon H. Stertzer, MD, Professor of Medicine and Radiology
Stanford University

Donald Ingber, MD, PhD
Founding Director, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology
Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital
Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Shannon Mumenthaler, PhD
Chief Translational Research Officer
Ellison Medical Institute
Associate Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering
University of Southern California