The Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMLEH) has awarded Prof. Dr. Beate Escher from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research the 2026 Animal Welfare Research Prize. The €100,000 prize recognizes her outstanding work in the development and application of cell-based bioassays that do not require the use of laboratory animals. A cell-based bioassay is an experimental method that uses living cells as a test system. This allows researchers to investigate the biological effects of a substance on cells. In this way, animal testing can be partially replaced in chemical hazard and risk assessment.
Parliamentary State Secretary Silvia Breher explained at the award ceremony: “Animal welfare is a socially relevant issue and is also gaining increasing importance in the field of science. We want to replace animal testing wherever modern and effective alternatives are available. For this, we need excellent research and people who break new scientific ground and put their findings into practice. With the Animal Welfare Research Prize, we specifically promote research that opens up new avenues and contributes to reducing the use of laboratory animals. Beate Escher’s work impressively demonstrates the progress that research from Germany can make to animal welfare.”
Prof. Dr.Beate Escher: “I am delighted to receive this award and the recognition of our research. Cell-based testing methods offer the possibility of specifically investigating the effects of chemicals and thus partially replacing traditional animal testing. However, it is crucial for research that promising approaches can also be widely applied. This prize is therefore also a motivation to continue along this path together with our research partners. Specifically, I would like to use it to promote further work on coupling high-throughput biodegradation and bioassays.”
Cell-based methods for modern risk assessment
Prof. Dr.Beate Escher is being honored for her pioneering work in the development and application of cell-based in vitro bioassays. Such a method can be used, for example, in drug development to investigate early on whether an active ingredient is effective or harmful to a cell. Unlike a purely chemical test, this method measures not only whether or how much of a substance is present, but also, for example, whether it affects cell growth, metabolism, specific receptors, or cell survival. Her work represents a fundamental shift from classical, animal-based testing methods to animal-free methods in the field of chemical hazard and risk assessment. The developed tests make it possible to analyze large quantities of chemicals as well as complex environmental and biological samples using standardized procedures. They are used particularly in the monitoring and evaluation of micropollutants, which are especially relevant for substances such as pharmaceuticals or hazardous substances.
Internationally networked environmental toxicologist
Prof. Dr.Beate Escher heads the Department of Cell Toxicology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig and is Professor of Environmental Toxicology at the University of Tübingen. She studied chemistry at the University of Konstanz. In 1995, she received her doctorate in organic environmental chemistry from ETH Zurich, and in 2002, she completed her habilitation there in environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology.
Furthermore, Ms. Escher is affiliated with various international scientific institutions, including the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University and the University of Queensland in Brisbane. She also lectures at ETH Zurich. Her research is characterized by an extensive international network of collaborators. She has received numerous awards for her scientific work.
Advancing animal welfare through research
The Animal Welfare Research Prize supports theBMLEHThe research and development of alternative and replacement methods to animal testing. The aim is to advance scientific approaches that contribute to replacing animal testing, reducing the number of animals used in experiments, and decreasing the burden on laboratory animals.
The internationally advertised animal welfare research prize is endowed with 100,000 euros. The guiding principle for research activities on the protection of laboratory animals is the so-called 3R principle. The three Rs stand for Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement: replacing animal experiments, reducing the number of animals used, and minimizing their suffering.
In addition to the animal welfare research prize, the German Federal Government supports the development of alternative methods with further measures. The German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R) at the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) focuses on intensifying research into alternative methods and advocates for their harmonization and international recognition. Further instruments include research funding through theBfR, the funding priority “Alternative methods to animal testing” of the Federal Ministry of Research and the financial support of the “Foundation for the Promotion of Research into Alternative and Supplementary Methods to Reduce Animal Testing”.
