FRAME’s approach to funding research combines both the scientific and the educational. Not only are we interested in the direct outputs of the research we fund and how they will help replace animal research methods, we also expect our grants to add value by increasing the skills of our award holders. 

We know that to end the use of animals in human disease research and safety testing, suitable non-animal methods have to exist. This is not yet the case in all areas. Where alternatives do exist we know that using human biology as the basis for testing leads to more accurate and reliable results. However, there is a lot still to be done to ensure that all research that currently uses animals can be done differently. Once new methods are developed they also need to be extensively validated so that regulators can be certain that the results generated, in particular around safety and toxicity, are reliable. This process of discovery and testing takes many years. We want to ensure donations to FRAME help drive these changes through our grant opportunities. Our current funding schemes support projects that help replace animal use in testing and research, but also allow grant holders to improve their skills and knowledge in human-based research methods, public communication of science, and other areas essential to achieving a more humane research landscape.

Our research funding currently has three strands:

• The FRAME Laboratory
• Summer Studentship Awards 
• Innovation Grant Scheme 
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

We have funded the FRAME laboratory at the University of Nottingham for over 30 years, to find and test new ways of conducting both toxicity testing and human modelling for basic disease research. The FAL is the oldest research laboratory dedicated to the development of non-animal research methods in the UK. Steady funding of a specialist laboratory enables FRAME to engage in long-term research areas and reduces the overheads associated with annual grant programmes.  In addition, not only do members of the FAL team conduct primary research, but they also supervise large numbers of doctoral students every year, growing the skills of young researchers in human-based research methods.  The lab is a unique environment in which to study; with state-of-the-art equipment and a strong community, it is a vital incubator for alternatives research.

Read more about our current approach to funding research in our Grant Funding Strategy