UCI NEW APPROACH (NON-ANIMAL) METHODOLOGIES IN RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM
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Grant funding offered through the Shri Parshvanath Presidential Chair in Jain Studies and the UCI Program in Religious Studies
Application Deadline: EXTENDED, Friday June 6, 2025
Grantees contacted by June , 2025
At present, this grant is only open to UCI students.
UNDERGRADUATE GRANT (Basic Distance Learning Course "Evidence-based Toxicology" + event attendance): $750 summer grant for Basic Distance Learning
+ registration fees (and/or travel if required) for any online or in-person event the student chooses to attend; up to $500
GRADUATE GRANT (Basic Distance Learning + event attendance): $1250 summer grant for Basic Distance Learning
+ registration fees (and/or travel if required) for any online or in-person event the student chooses to attend; up to $500
DESCRIPTION
New approach methodologies (NAMs)—also called non-animal methods—refer to any technology, methodology, approach, or combination that can provide information on chemical danger and risk in order to avoid the breeding, captivity, and testing of animals for this purpose.
NAMs can urgently and exponentially expand the Three Rs of animal welfare principles—Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement—put forth by Russell and Burch in 1959 through incentivizing novel research, demonstrating efficacy, and educating regulatory bodies.
NAMs can enable industry leaders to boldly take into account animals’ preferences, interests, and vulnerabilities, which can impact the use of animals in research.
NAMs have application in drug development, product testing, veterinary medicine, virtual tissues, organs on chips, computer models, and many other areas. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has pledged to replace all mammalian testing by 2035 and is one of many global organizations actively engaging in NAMs development.
The UCI New Approach (Non-Animal) Methodologies in Research Grant Program is offered through the Shri Parshvanath Presidential Chair in Jain Studies in recognition of the tradition’s ancient commitment to nonviolence toward plants, animals, and elemental life, as well as the global Jain community’s long-standing leadership in medicine. In 2025, we hope to offer 2–3 grants at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.
GRANT REQUIREMENTS FOR UNDERGRADS & GRADS (click dropdown menu)
GRANT REQUIREMENTS FOR UNDERGRADS & GRADS (click dropdown menu)
Undergraduate Applicants Grant Requirements
1. Coursera Course
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 / Watching
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
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)
Hope Ferdowsian [video]: Why We Need to Transform Medical Research
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)
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.
Phoenix Zones Initiatives (webinars only)
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, 2025 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
Please propose 2-3 additional readings (or a book) in your area of interest to complement the undergraduate list (minimum 100 pages)
3. Graduate Summary Report (deadline Sept 15, 2025, unless extension needed to attend an event).
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 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.
Grant payment note: the dispersal of this grant depends on a student's financial aid status. For a student not receiving financial aid, the grant will be awarded in two equal payments: (1) in early July and (2) at completion of the summary report by September 15, 2025. For students who are receiving aid, we will contact you with payment options. Any additional conference or travel fees will be paid according to necessary deadlines. Completion of program and summary report is required to receive the grant balance.
Applications require:
A. Identifying one or more possible online or in-person event/s they will attend during the grant (see Requirements drop-down box for options)
B. 1.5–2 page single-spaced essay which answers the following four questions:
Why you would like to pursue this New Approach (Non-Animal) Methodologies grant for summer 2025?
What previous work or coursework prepares you to succeed and grow in this experience?
Assess your ability to satisfy the time commitments needed for this self-paced grant.
How do you imagine the NAMs grant can contribute to your future research, graduate plans, or work?
Selection Committee
Selection Committee
Brianne Donaldson, PhD
Brianne Donaldson, PhD
Director, UCI Program in
Religious Studies
Shri Parshvanath Presidential Chair in Jain Studies
Leigh Turner, PhD
Leigh Turner, PhD
Executive Director, UCI Bioethics
Program
Professor, Health, Society, and Behavior
Public Health
J. Jina Shah, MD, MPH, MBE
J. Jina Shah, MD, MPH, MBE
Executive Director, Clinical Safety and Pharmacovigilance in Biopharma
Physician in Family Medicine and General Preventive Medicine, Pharmaceutical Bioethicist
PAST FELLOWS & REPORTS
PAST FELLOWS & REPORTS
2023 RASHID ALAM
2023 RASHID ALAM
UCI 2023; Major: Biological Sciences / Minor: Philosophy
Read Rashid's Fellow Report here.
Update (Summer 2025) Rashid is a student at Keck Graduate Institute. His recent project included demonstrating how a Large Language Model can predict antigen-antibody specificity from sequence data alone, finding alternative methods to improve neurology research.
2024 TRISTA LARA
2024 TRISTA LARA
UCI 2026; Major Philosophy / Minor Criminology, Law & Society
Read Trista's Fellow Report here and related pieces she wrote for public outlets:
"Acknowledging the Intersectionality of Humanitarian Issues", New University (Dec 2024)
"An Animal Bill of Rights is Integral to Animal Liberation," New University (May 2024)
Update (Winter 2024): Trista has developed her fellowship work into an extended project exploring the role of pathos in animal-related research. She is applying for admission into the prestigious Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium at Johns Hopkins University and the PIKSI (Philosophy in an Inclusive Key Summer Institute) program at Penn State.
2025 KAREN AMAVIZCA
2025 KAREN AMAVIZCA
UCI 2026; Major Philosophy (Law & Society) / Minor Spanish
Read Karen's Fellow Report here.
QUESTIONS? Contact Brianne Donaldson at b.donaldson@uci.edu
UCI Program in Religious Studies
200 Murray Krieger Hall
Irvine, CA 92697
(949) 824-6735
Department Manager: Marc Kanda mhkanda@uci.edu
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