Call for proposals: CAAT’s 2023 Reduction and Humane Education grants

The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) is now accepting proposals for the 2023 Reduction and Humane Education Grants.

The Reduction Grant focuses on research projects that help reduce animal use by identifying areas of research and testing where animal models lack reproducibility and translational value. Hence, the grant is intended for researchers who conduct systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or citation analyses of animal studies or similar work with the goal to reduce animal use in science.

The Humane Education Grant is given for the development of animal-free training resources for veterinary, medical or laboratory courses. The grant is intended for educators and training material developers with the goal to foster respect and compassion for animals.

Each Grant includes prize money of $6,000 USD. There are no Facilities and Administrative Costs allowed on the grants. Preference will be given to studies that have broad applicability and a potentially large impact.

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 should 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 grant 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.

The deadline for receipt of submissions is Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Applications should be submitted electronically to the Director of the Beyond Classical Refinement Program, Kathrin Herrmann, at kherrma1@jhu.edu.

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 December 2023. CAAT reserves the right not to bestow a grant.