In a new EARA opinion piece, originally published on LinkedIn, where it garnered over 50,000 views, Executive Director Kirk Leech examines research from Stanford showing that human brain organoids transplanted into animals can develop characteristics that cannot be reproduced when the tissue is grown solely in the laboratory.  

The work highlights the importance of the living biological environment for understanding complex processes such as brain development and function. 

The opinion piece argues that such research challenges simplistic claims that organoids and other New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) can straightforwardly replace animal research. Instead, combining NAMs with animal models can provide insights that neither approach can achieve alone — illustrating why progress in biomedical research increasingly depends on integrating complementary methods rather than presenting them as competing alternatives. 

Read Kirk’s complete opinion piece.