The Mitigation Working Group of the COLAAB engages in advocacy efforts to encourage funders of biomedical research, like the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), to address review-related barriers facing researchers who use nonanimal approaches.
Public Comments
The NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) oversees activities that aim for fair, expert, and timely scientific review to ensure that the agency funds the most promising research. For the March 2024 CSR Advisory Council meeting, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine submitted a written public comment on behalf of the COLAAB regarding actions the Center can take to address animal methods bias. The COLAAB recommendations to CSR included:
- Assessing animal methods bias prevalence and impact.
- Training reviewers how to identify and mitigate animal methods bias.
- Encouraging reporting of incidences of animal methods bias.
- Broadening the pool of nonanimal method expertise available for review.
- Creating nonanimal-specific funding streams.
Requests for Information
In March 2024, Science Advancement and Outreach submitted a response on behalf of the COLAAB to a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Request for Information (RFI) on Potential Solutions for Reducing Publication Bias Against Null Studies. The purpose of the RFI was to solicit public input on barriers and solutions to reduce publication bias in biomedical research.
The submitted response discussed the detrimental consequences of animal methods bias, as well as how bias against null studies can distort interpretations and opinions of animal research and result in misrepresentations of its precision and translatability. The response included mitigation strategies for authors, scientists, journals, and publishers to address animal methods bias that may be helpful for incentivizing the dissemination of null studies and initiating solutions to address null study bias.
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