Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D.

Limitations of acyclovir and identification of potent HSV antivirals using 3D bioprinted human skin equivalents - Nature Communications Using a 3D bioprinted human skin equivalent assay, this study shows a keratinocyte-specific limitation of acyclovir against herpes simplex virus and identifies antivirals effective across various cell...

Read in @natcomms.nature.com :
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This 3D human skin tissue model recapitulates the structure of skin, how HSV infects it, & how existing drugs work.

The #NCATS, @uwiscrm.bsky.social, @uwdeptmedicine.bsky.social, @uwdgh.bsky.social, & @fredhutch.org team screened 738 potential compounds & identified 23 potential antivirals.

A graphic with a quote and modified figure from the linked Nature Communications paper, “Limitations of acyclovir and identification of potent HSV antivirals using 3D bioprinted human skin equivalents” (doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-64245-w). It features Figure 2A, a schematic illustrating the following: “Dermis equivalents were 3D printed onto the apical side of transwell inserts...Keratinocytes were pipetted onto the apical surface of the dermis. In the submerged model, the tissues were infected at the apical surface. In the ALI model, tissues were brought to ALI and then infected at the basolateral surface.” Also a quote from a NCATS article published on January 27, 2026: “This collaborative research showed that the bioprinted 3-D skin tissue model closely replicates the structure and layered organization of human skin and that HSV infects these cells the same way it infects people.”

There is currently no cure for #HSV, and patients can develop resistance to the drug used to manage symptoms.

But thanks to NCATS' 3D Tissue Bioprinting Program, scientists now have the best model yet for testing new treatments.

ncats.nih.gov/news-events/...

#3Dprinting #bioprinting #virosky 🧪

3D chip platform enables animal-free testing in cancer research Cancer research laboratory tests can now be done using micro-physiological systems mimicking human physiology, allowing greater predictive accuracy for human patient responses, thanks to an internatio...

HonorHealth and the University of Arizona developed a 3-D human tumor chip that better reflects cancer biology and therapeutic evaluation than animal tests. medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01...

TAKE ACTION: Shut Down the OHSU Primate Lab The OHSU Board of Directors is deciding whether to shut down its primate lab—urge them to vote YES and transition the facility into a sanctuary for thousands of monkeys. Send your letter by noon on Fe...

🚨 OHSU's Board of Directors is deciding whether to shut down its primate lab—urge them to vote YES and transition the facility into a sanctuary for thousands of monkeys.

Send your letter by noon PT on Friday, 2/6 to make it count: actionnetwork.org/letters/shut...

📢 ACTION NEEDED TODAY!

Please submit comments to ohsuboard@ohsu.edu with the subject line "For public comment." Ask OHSU’s Board to approve the resolution & permit negotiations with NIH for the proposed phase-out and sanctuary plan.

#AnimalRights #AnimalWelfare

This: bsky.app/profile/opb....

THIS is how it's done! 👏

This is NIH putting its money where its mouth is:

➡️ April '25: Sets agency-wide priority to support NAMs & reduce animal use
➡️ Sept '25: Allows grant funds to be used for animal retirement & rehoming
➡️ 2026: Takes decisive action to see where the transition can be made

World Cancer Day: Advancing Human-Relevant Science to Improve Cancer Outcomes As we raise awareness and encourage prevention on this World Cancer Day, it’s critical to talk about the need to move away from failed animal experimentation and toward innovative, human-relevant rese...

Fewer than 10% of cancer drugs succeed, partly because animal models don’t reflect human biology.

Human‑relevant tools—organoids, chips, AI—are already improving modeling & treatment.

Some highlights from the field:
www.linkedin.com/pulse/world-...

#WorldCancerDay #UnitedByUnique #SciPol

Full response to this RFI: t.co/MGTh2FuS35

And read all of SAO's public comments here: www.scienceadvancement.org/resources/re...

#SciPol #transplant #donatelife #MedSky

In Jan, SAO responded to NIAID’s CTOT RFI, urging the program to continuing focusing only on allotransplantation (no xeno), & to support DCD donation, advanced organ‑preservation tech, & risk‑adjusted acceptance frameworks.

We emphasized the urgent need to expand the pool of *human* organs.

Which questions about programs’ nonhuman animal use should medical students ask during residency interviews? - Global Surgical Education - Journal of the Association for Surgical Education Medical students have unique opportunities to develop their personal and professional character during residency. Part of characterological development for some trainees can include voicing their conc...

Read Dr. Mand's commentary here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#MedSky #MedEd #Residency #Match2026
#ContentiousObjection #Bioethics

Check out this new piece by SAO’s Donya Mand, MD! ⚕️

Dr. Mand highlights how med students can advocate for non‑animal training, why live‑animal use isn’t a standard, & why programs should clearly disclose it so trainees can make informed, ethical choices.

📖 In Global Surgical Education, 🔗 below

Let’s Bring Government-Funded Animal Experiments Out of the Shadows Taxpayers have no idea how many animals are used in experiments funded by the U.S. government. But a new federal bill would change that!

*This is a huge problem!! But there's a bill in Congress that could fix it.

Learn more about the Federal Animal Research Accountability Act, led by Reps Nicole Malliotakis, Don Davis, and Jen Kiggans.

From @pcrm.org: www.pcrm.org/countinganim...

Grateful for GAO's diligence & willingness to revisit these figures.

Federal agencies should always provide the public with clear, complete information about how their tax dollars are spent.

See GAO's website with the revised report: www.gao.gov/products/gao...

There's tons of work to be done to ensure full transparency around taxpayer-funded animal experimentation.

But this correction was needed, as the false, lower figure had been cited by academics and used in media articles (& I'll be updating those folks).

Edits include updated language on NIH’s research spending, the proportion of intramural & extramural projects involving animals (41% & 25%, respectively), & an acknowledgment from NIH officials that they cannot accurately capture how much money is allocated to animal use within these projects.*

We brought this issue to GAO & they went back to NIH for complete information, & kept an open line of communication with us throughout the process.

Their revised report now reflects more accurate descriptions of NIH’s spending & clarifies limitations of what NIH was able (or willing) to provide.

Through multiple conversations w GAO analysts, we determined why:

The prev NIH administration had given GAO only a fraction of the relevant data, *omitting funding for ongoing multi‑year grants* (!!)

The scale of NIH-funded animal experimentation had been dramatically underestimated.

When GAO first issued the report in Dec 2024, it stated that NIH spent ~$5.5 billion per year on research involving animals between 2018–2023, far lower than the most recent 2012 estimate, which put nearly half (47%) of the agency's research funding toward animal use.

Colleagues & I worked with @usgao.bsky.social for a year to clarify a major discrepancy in NIH's reported spending on animal experimentation.

Now GAO has re-released its report to more accurately reflect what we do & don't know about NIH’s use of public funds: www.gao.gov/assets/gao-2...

🧵👇

Coronary artery disease-associated variants regulate vascular smooth muscle cell gene expression - Nature Cardiovascular Research Barbera et al. identify and map genetic variants that alter the characteristics of vascular smooth muscle cells and contribute to the risk of coronary artery disease.

Just in time for #AmericanHeartMonth 🫀

In primary human vascular smooth muscle cells, @metecivelek.bsky.social's lab used state-of-the-art tools, including lentiMPRA & #CRISPRi, to pinpoint functional risk variants for coronary artery disease.

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

#CardioSky 🧪

Register to join: www.eventbrite.com/e/national-c...

Speakers include Hope Ferdowsian, Maggie Topalian, @rebecca-critser.bsky.social of @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social, Kathy Hessler, Syd Johnson, Martha Smith-Blackmore, Jessica Pierce @cuanschutz.bsky.social, & Ingrid Taylor

#bioethics

Flyer for the National Commission on Research Ethics Meeting, part of the Animal Law & Science Project Webinar Series, to be held Wednesday, February 18, 2026, from 12:00 to 1:30 pm ET on Zoom. The flyer also includes logos for the hosting institutions (GW Animal Law and Phoenix Zones Initiative); photos, names, and affiliations of eight speakers, and the following description: “In this web meeting, members of the National Committee on Research Ethics will discuss their work on a forthcoming report which uses a more-than-human context to update the Belmont Report principles designated by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research.”

The National Commission on Research Ethics—a partnership between @gwlaw.bsky.social & Phoenix Zones Initiative—is developing a new #BelmontReport to advance the principles of respect, beneficence, and justice to animals used in experimentation.

Tune in Feb 18 at noon EST for an update.

🔗 below

Impressive new in vitro model for studying intestinal physiology from @uwbioe.bsky.social

The epithelial cells change their growth, shape, & behavior depending on the matrix, for which stiffness can be tuned up for down.

@ioppublishing.bsky.social
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

We've got a new paper over at @thecolaab.bsky.social !

Nitric Oxide May Adversely Affect the Metabolism and Viability of Retinal Organoids Derived from Patients with Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a bilateral optic neuropathy associated with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations characterized by parapapillary telangiectasia during the acute phase. Howev...

In @ajpathology.bsky.social, Takano et al. find that nitric oxide may drive retinal cell death in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy patient–derived #organoids. It also disrupts their metabolic profiles.

ajp.amjpathol.org/article/S000...

🧪 🧬 #ophthosky #LHON

TY, @americanbar.org TIPS Animal Law Committee for the invitation to speak in last week's subcommittee meeting.

We risk losing brilliant young minds when we equate science with harming animals. Thankfully, new initiatives are showing students that compassion strengthens, not weakens, good research.

Women’s Health Research Needs a Human-Centered Reset January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, and today is Maternal Health Awareness Day! This month provides an important opportunity to highlight two critical issues in women’s health*: cervical cance...

#WomensHealth #WomensHealthResearch #CervicalCancer #CervicalCancerAwareness #MHAD2026 #MaternalHealth #SciencePolicy #SciPol

www.linkedin.com/pulse/womens...

Jan is #CervicalHealthAwarenessMonth, & Fri was #MaternalHealthAwarenessDay! ♀️

Women’s health research is already underserved. Animal models that don’t reflect human biology slow progress even more.

Read the SAO article linked below to learn for why we need a human-based research approach.

🧪