3Rs prize awarded

Research on miniature hearts to study cardiac diseases and to reduce the use of animal experiments has been recognised at an European conference.

Viviana Meraviglia, of Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands, has been awarded the 3Rs science prize 2020 of the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) for her work using human mini-hearts for drug screening and cardiotoxicity testing.

The EPAA thought the study represented an innovative and unique in vitro model of the human heart that was well suited for studying disease, drug responses and cardiotoxicity.

The ceremony took place at the virtual EPAA Annual Conference, last week, celebrating the 15 years of EPAA’s contribution to the 3Rs, fostering discussion about the current and future challenges on the way towards human-based testing models.