Perspectives on Animal Experiments and Alternative Models

In a recent article in Laborjournal, a German science magazine covering life sciences and biomedical research, our spokesperson Prof. Florian Greten shares his views on animal experiments in cancer research, the growing potential of alternative methods and why animal models are still needed for certain questions.

In the article, Florian Greten highlights the close collaboration across our research sites as one of our major strengths. Our researchers share genetically modified colorectal cancer organoids across the consortium and use them alongside patient-derived material and mouse models. This allows us to work more efficiently, save valuable research time and reduce the number of animals needed in certain experiments.

He also explains why animal models still remain important for our research, as they do in many other fields: current alternative models cannot yet fully capture the complexity of a living organism. The tumor microenvironment, the central focus of our consortium, is a prime example of this complexity.

The article summarizes the rise of alternative models in recent years and the reasons why animal models have not fully disappeared yet.

Read the full article (in German): https://www.laborjournal.de/rubric/hintergrund/hg/hg_26_11_01.php