PETA Scientist Contributes to Landmark Textbook on Animal-Free Research
Millions of dogs, cats, mice, rabbits, monkeys, and other animals have endured sickness, mutilation, and death in laboratories for decades, despite overwhelming evidence that these cruel experiments overwhelmingly fail to lead to human treatments.
Today, there’s a better way to help humans and our fellow animals.
A new textbook featuring a chapter by PETA neuroscientist Dr. Emily Trunnell examines how cutting-edge, animal-free methods can replace archaic experiments on animals.
“Moving Toward Nonanimal Approaches in Medical Research and Testing” is a comprehensive guide to the rapidly growing field of animal-free research. The book makes the historical, ethical, and scientific case for moving away from tests on animals while spotlighting state-of-the-art, human-based technologies, including organ-on-a-chip systems, bioprinting, and artificial intelligence, that can replace them.
It also offers practical strategies for overcoming the funding, publication, and regulatory barriers that are slowing the adoption of superior, non-animal research, a goal Dr. Trunnell has long pursued as director of PETA’s Science Advancement and Outreach division.
Breaking the Bias
Dr. Trunnell leads PETA’s efforts to improve science policy and publishing practices and accelerate the replacement of experiments on animals with superior methods. Her chapter, “Overcoming animal methods bias and its impacts on nonanimal research assessments,” tackles one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way: animal methods bias.
This bias has deep roots in the scientific community. It’s a historical favoritism toward animal experimentation, which can unfairly influence publishing decisions, peer review processes, funding availability, and research oversight.
It’s a major challenge for non-animal researchers. Drawing on survey data, case studies, and broader research patterns, Dr. Trunnell and her co-author, Dr. Catharine E. Krebs, show how researchers using non-animal methods are often pressured to conduct experiments on animals to satisfy reviewers or funders, even when those tests add no scientific value.
Dr. Trunnell also exposes the institutional and cultural forces that sustain this bias and continue to stack the deck against animal-free science, including peer-review practices, publication incentives, and deeply entrenched research traditions. These barriers both condemn animals to unnecessary experiments and slow scientific advancement by making it harder for non-animal research to get off the ground.
Drs. Trunnell and Krebs provides practical solutions for mitigating this bias, ensuring that scientific assessments are based on merit rather than outdated preferences for animal experimentation. Her recommendations include implementing bias-reduction training, improving awareness of non-animal methods, and investing in animal-free research infrastructure.
Dr. Trunnell’s chapter builds on PETA’s award-winning work with the Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias, an international group of researchers and advocates working to level the playing field for non-animal research and expose the barriers that hinder the adoption of animal-free science.
Support Animal-Free Science
If you’re in the U.S., please take action for animals abused in laboratories and champion good science by supporting PETA’s Research Modernization Now—a comprehensive strategy for replacing experiments on animals with state-of-the-art, human-relevant research methods:
And everyone, no matter where you live, can watch and share Test Subjects, a powerful documentary featuring Dr. Trunnell that explores the pressure on aspiring scientists to experiment on animals in order to earn their diplomas.
