Award for Reconstructed Human Tissue Models to Assess Toxicity or Drug Efficacy in the Respiratory Tract - PETA Science Consortium International e.V.

PETA Science Consortium International e.V. and Epithelix invite you to apply to win reconstructed human respiratory tissues from Epithelix. The human cell–based tissue models mimic various regions of the respiratory tract and can be used for testing cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical device extracts, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and household products.

The deadline to apply for this award is 17 July 2026. The winner will be publicly announced at the Lung In Vitro Event for Innovative & Predictive Models (LIVe2026) happening 8-9 October 2026 in Archamps, France.

The Award

The winner will be chosen based on their proposal’s scientific merit and potential to replace the use of animals in inhalation testing.
The winner will receive a €20,000 (~US$26,700) award redeemable for Epithelix tissues (at standard commercial prices).
The winner or one person from their laboratory will be eligible to receive free registration and may request travel assistance worth up to €500 to attend LIVe2026 and the pre-congress Hands-On Training on In Vitro Lung Models workshop taking place on 7 October 2026 in Archamps, France (see the LIVe2026 website for more details about the workshop). Attendance at LIVe2026 and the workshop is not required for those not receiving travel assistance.

Eligibility

Researchers from any sector (e.g. industry, academia, government, and non-governmental organisations) are encouraged to apply.
The award is open to residents of any country. Must be 18 or older. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. By applying, you are acknowledging that you have read and agreed to our contest terms and conditions and privacy policy.

Award Recipient Requirements

The recipient must adhere to the following requirements:

Provide a headshot and a personal quote highlighting the significance of the award for your work within one week of receiving notification from the Science Consortium that they have been selected for the award. These will be used on Science Consortium and member organisation websites as well as on social media platforms.
If requesting travel assistance, the award recipient must:
- Include justification within the questionnaire demonstrating the need for travel assistance and registration.
- Attend the hands-on workshop and both days of LIVe2026 if receiving free registration and a Science Consortium travel grant. Reimbursement is contingent upon this requirement.
- Register for the hands-on training and LIVe2026 and book their own travel and hotel accommodation to attend the events in Archamps, France, if receiving free registration and a Science Consortium travel grant. The Science Consortium will reimburse the winner’s expenses for hotel and economy-seating airfare or train up to €500. Receipts are required for accommodation and travel reimbursement and must be submitted to the Science Consortium by 15 November 2026. The Science Consortium will reimburse the winner within one month of receiving and approving the winner’s receipts. There will be no reimbursement for travel expenses if documents related to travel are not received in time.
- Assume responsibility for all other expenses not noted above, including but not limited to meals, beverages, gratuities, incidentals, optional excursions, personal expenses, and travel insurance.
- Obtain and pay for any documents required to travel, including a passport if travelling internationally.

How to Apply

Please use the form below to submit the following documents by 17 July 2026.

The applicant’s CV (three or fewer pages)
Responses to the Questionnaire

FormBuilder Form - 4330


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For questions about the award or the application process, please contact Dr Monita Sharma at [email protected].

Previous Award Recipients

2024

Dr Helena Kandarova of the Centre of Experimental Medicine at the Slovak Academy of Sciences received a US$15,000 (~€15,237) award redeemable for human cell-based models by Epithelix.

“My team and I at CEM are very thankful to PETA Science Consortium International for choosing us as the award recipients. The Epithelix models will help us explore interesting drug candidates for their antimicrobial and antiviral properties. We will use reconstructed airway (MucilAir and SmallAir) and alveolar tissue models, employing the VITROCELL^® Cloud Alpha exposure system to investigate the molecules’ effects in vitro.”— Dr Helena Kandarova

2023

Dr Suzanne Cloonan of Trinity College Dublin received a US$15,000 (~€15,237) award redeemable for Epithelix tissues (MucilAir, SmallAir, or AlveolAir) and/or primary human alveolar macrophages. She will use the tissues to test the effects of cigarette smoke and bacterial infection in the context of lung diseases.

“There is an urgent need to develop in vitro models that physiologically, metabolically and immunologically mimic the alveolar space. This award will allow us to try and develop such a model to test new therapeutic interventions for infectious exacerbations in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease.”— Dr Suzanne Cloonan

2018

First Place (US$5,000 award)

Kristine Nishida, from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, will expose the 3-D tissues to cigarette smoke to elucidate the mechanism underlying the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She will also study tissues from human donors with COPD to gain a deeper understanding of the disease pathogenesis and how to reverse the effects.

“I am so honored to receive this wonderful award! The MucilAir cells will allow us to elucidate the mechanisms that occur in human cells isolated from several different COPD and non-diseased donors in a fully differentiated air-liquid interface culture. We will be able to expose the tissues at air-liquid interface to whole cigarette smoke and fully detail the changes that occur in the epithelium that we couldn’t otherwise do in an animal model.”— Kristine Nishida

Second Place (US$2,500 award each)

Dr Chang Guo, Public Health England, will use the tissues for toxicity testing of carbon nanotubes.

Dr Richard Gminski, University of Freiburg, will use the tissues to evaluate the efficacy of drugs on Klebsiella pneumoniae, an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that poses a health threat to hospital patients worldwide.