The fellowship is awarded to candidates whose program of study shows the greatest potential to replace the use of animals in science. IFER’s greatest interest is in how the proposed project will enhance the student’s involvement in issues of animal welfare and how the project’s outcome will replace the use of animals in research, product testing, and/or education.

The focus of Puls’ project is the development of a predictive in vitro model of pancreatic cancer that will reduce the use of animals in the drug development process. The project is entitled “Engineering Novel 3D Tumor-stroma Models to Bridge the Gap between Preclinical Models and Human Clinical Outcomes.” 

Existing cancer models, such as xenograft mouse models and 2D cell culture, lack physiological relevance and as a result, often fail to predict human clinical outcomes. To overcome these limitations, Puls will be developing a sophisticated, human-relevant cancer model that focuses on pancreatic cancer, a type of cancer associated with poor prognosis, even when diagnosed early. With IFER funding, he will be developing a three-dimensional, cell-based model that accurately recreates important characteristics of pancreatic cancer and can reduce animal use by giving more predictive power to cell-based studies.

“My advisor and I are thankful for IFER’s support and are very excited about the opportunities this fellowship creates,” says Puls. Puls is advised by Sherry Harbin, professor of biomedical engineering and basic medical sciences. “We’re excited to advance the development of a model that will not only be more successful in predicting the behavior of pancreatic cancer in humans, but also reduces the reliance upon animals for this type of research.”

The fellowship provides up to $12,500 annually, which includes stipendiary support and up to $2,500 for supplies per year. The fellowships are renewable annually for up to three years. Continued funding is dependent on student progress and availability of funds.

For more information about the International Foundation for Ethical Research visit: http://www.ifer.org/