The BC Foundation for Non-Animal Research (BC FNAR) is proud to announce our two successful applicants for our 2026 round of funding, Dr. Neeru Gupta of UBC and Dr. Lorena Braid of SFU.
Each year, BC FNAR awards applicants from the bio-sciences up to $10,000 each (applicants may request more) for their research that does not use animals or their byproducts throughout the research process and which push forward the use of Non-Animal Methodologies (NAMs) in their field.
This year, BC FNAR received a record number of applicants for our grant, which opens Jan 1st and runs until April 30th. In this end, our multi-disciplinary team of trustees choose two successful applicants based on the merit of their research and their adherence to NAMs. They are:
Dr. Neeru Gupta of UBC, Head and Professor in the UBC Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, and as a Professor in the School of Population and Public Health, is awarded $15,000 for her research application: A Human Organ-on-a-Chip Model of Posterior Ocular Lymphatic Drainage for Non-Animal Screening of Glaucoma Therapeutics.
Dr. Lorena Braid of SFU, Assistant Professor & Canada Research Chair in Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Biology, is awarded $10,000 for her research application: Human cell-based biomaterials to enable non-animal methods (NAMs).
We want to congratulate both Dr. Gupta and Dr. Braid for their successful applications and thank them for their ongoing commitment to NAMs in their research. It takes courage, skill, and determination to choose evidence-based compassionate methodologies in a field overwhelmingly dominated by animal research. Their efforts clear the way forward for students and future researchers to challenge status-quo animal methods and we are grateful for their leadership.
Applications will re-open Jan 1st 2027. Thank you to all who applied, we look forward to receiving next years exciting applications soon!
BC FNAR President and Board of Trustees
