Environmental Factor, January 2009, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Humane Society and Procter and Gamble Recognize NTP for Advancing Alternatives to Animal Testing
By Robin Mackar
January 2009
On December 18, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Procter and Gamble presented Ray Tice, Ph.D., of the National Toxicology Program (NTP) an award for the outstanding scientific contributions that he and others are making to advance viable alternatives to animal testing.
The North American Alternative Awards were presented at HSUS' Washington office by the executive vice president of the HSUS, Andrew Rowan, Ph.D., and Len Sauers, Ph.D., vice president of product safety, regulatory and technical relations for Procter and Gamble. The awards recognize the efforts of the recipients to work toward the elimination of animal testing for consumer product safety while ensuring safe products for consumers and the environment.
Raymond Tice, Ph.D., chief of the NTP Biomolecular Screening Branch and deputy director of the NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, was joined by colleagues Christopher Austin, M.D., of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NIGRI) and Robert Kavlock, Ph.D., of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to receive the award. The award includes a $25,000 grant to support the ongoing alternative methodologies efforts.
The three agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/releases/2008/toxrelease.cfm) in February 2008 to use the NIH Chemical Genomics Center's (NCGC) high-speed, automated screening robots to test suspected toxic compounds using cells and isolated molecular targets instead of laboratory animals. The award will be used to develop toxicity signatures that help determine how toxic a chemical might be and what type of toxicity it might cause.
"I am pleased that we are receiving recognition by our stakeholders for our efforts," said Tice. "The NTP and our sister agencies are working hard to implement the vision set out by the National Research Council's 2007 Report, Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11970#toc) 
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