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, Xiling Shen, and Cameron Ferris 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

Xiling Shen, PhD  Professor MD Anderson Cancer Center

Cameron Ferris, PhD  Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer Inventia Life Science