Entries Invited for Lush Prize to End or Replace Animal Testing
A number of prizes are available to reward initiatives that seek to end or replace animal testing, particularly in the area of toxicity testing for consumer products and ingredients.
The Lush Prize is a collaboration between Lush and Ethical Consumer. It aims to bring forward the day when safety testing takes place without the use of animals and focuses on toxicity testing for consumer products and ingredients (as opposed to medical testing). Entries are accepted from anywhere in the world, for projects that have taken place anywhere in the world.
Awarded biennially, the prize rewards initiatives and campaigning that work to end or replace animal testing across the following award categories:
- Science Prize: For individuals, research teams or institutions for work most likely to lead to practical non-animal tests which could be accepted by regulators.
- Young Researcher Prize: For young scientists (up to 35 years of age) focused on an animal-test free future.
- Training Prize: For individuals, teams or organisations establishing training programmes in using non-animal methods.
- Public Awareness Prize: For individuals, teams or institutions raising awareness of animal testing.
- Lobbying Prize: For exceptional individuals, groups or organisations pushing for change.
- Black Box Prize: For a key breakthrough in human toxicity pathways research.
There are two additional, non-financial awards. The Andrew Tyler Award is available for outstanding contributions towards ending animal testing. The prize is named after Andrew Tyler, former director of Animal Aid and a founding Lush Prize judge. The Political Achievement Award is open to elected political officials in any country and is in recognition of the essential work politicians do to create lasting legal change for animals and science.
Applications are invited from organisations, research institutions and individual researchers worldwide that are focused on ending the use of animal testing, research into non-animal tests or promoting the use of non-animal tests. Candidates can nominate themselves or their own organisation – nominations on behalf of other people or organisations are not accepted (apart from for the Political Achievement Award).
The total prize fund is £250,000, which will be shared across all categories:
- Young Researcher offers £10,000 to each winner.
- Lobbying Prize has a prize fund of £50,000 shared between the winners.
- Public Awareness Prize has a prize fund of £50,000, which will be divided between a winning current project and a winning future project.
- Science Prize funding is £50,000 shared between the winners.
- Training Prize funding is £50,000 shared between the winners.
In any prize cycle where there is a major breakthrough in toxicology leading to the replacement of animal tests, the Black Box Prize of up to the entire £250,000 fund can be awarded to the individual or team responsible.
Entries must be submitted by the deadline of 17 June 2022.
(This report was the subject of a RESEARCHconnect Newsflash.)