Undergraduate Applicants Grant Requirements

1. Coursera Course

1. • Taking the free online 4-week (self-paced) Coursera Course “Evidence-based Toxicology” through Johns Hopkins University's Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT)

2. Reading

1. • Kathrin Hermann, “Refinement on the Way Towards Replacement: Are We Doing What We Can? In Animal Experimentation: Working Towards a Paradigm Change (Brill 2019; free open access)

   • Katy Taylor, “Recent Developments in Alternatives to Animal Testing” In Animal Experimentation: Working Towards a Paradigm Change (Brill 2019; free open access)

   • Thomas Hartung (Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), "Food for Thought . . . Opinion Versus Evidence for the Need to Move Away From Animal Testing"

   • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Alternative Test Methods and Strategies to Reduce Vertebrate Animal Testing” (December 2022); available at:

   • Chapters 1 “Why Jainism and Bioethics” and Chapter 6 “Wages of Life” in Insistent Life: Principles for Bioethics in the Jain Tradition by Brianne Donaldson and Ana Bajželj (2021; free open access)

3. Attending 1-2 events on New-Approach Methodologies/Non-Animal Models (NAMs) or 3Rs Workshops 

• Note: One event is sufficient if it is a conference of 1-2 full days; two events are needed if they are stand-alone online lectures.

• If the student desires to attend an in-person event, please include the event, estimated travel and registration cost, and rationale in your application

Select your proposed events at:

• Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) at Johns Hopkins University News and Events letters 

• Altex (Alternatives to Animal Experiments; this site lists multiple upcoming online and in-person events

• PSCI Webinar Series on the Use of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in Risk Assessment (videos from 12 past webinars held from 2018–2023)

• Environmental Protection Agency's 2024 NAMs Tools Training Workshop videos

• National Institutes of Health Symposiums on 3Rs and Alternatives from 2020 and 2021 events. 

• Feel free to find and suggest other events related to your research areas/interests from events at UCI, other campuses, or online. 

4. Undergraduate Summary Report (deadline Sept 15, 2024 unless extension needed to attend conference)

Students will write and present (presentation format TBD) a report including:

• • the event/s attended (including date/s, hosting organization, and description)

  • a copy of their Coursera completion certificate

  • a 2.5-page single spaced essay on how you see New Approach (Non-Animal) Methodologies (NAMs), evidence-based toxicology, and Jain views of animals/animal ethics/medical care contributing to their future work or research. This report should include specific terms, statistics, critical tools, practices and/or concepts that are applicable to demonstrate robust engagement with the course, reading, and events.

Graduate Applicant Grant Requirements

In addition to the above requirements, graduate student grant awardees will also complete:

1. Additional Coursera Course

• The additional Coursera course (self-paced) Toxicology 21: Scientific Applications through Johns Hopkins University's Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT)

2. Additional Reading

• Donovan Schafer, “Voracious Secularism: Emotional Habitus and the Desire for Knowledge in Animal Experimentation” Religion 53:4, 700-723, DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2023.2258710

3. Graduate Summary Report (deadline Sept 15, 2024, unless extension needed to attend an event). 

Students will write and present (presentation format TBD) a report including:

3. • the event/s attended (including date/s, hosting organization, and description)

   • a copy of their two Coursera completion certificates

   • a 4-5-page single spaced essay on how you see New Approach (Non-Animal) Methodologies (NAMs), evidence-based toxicology, a critical examination of the “research imperative,” and Jain views of animals/animal ethics/medical care contributing to their future work or research. This report should include specific terms, statistics, critical tools, practices and/or concepts that are applicable to demonstrate robust engagement with the course, reading, and events.