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Researchers rewarded for dropping animal experimentation

Lene Baad-Hansen and Karthika Rajeeve from Aarhus University have both received a scholarship from the Frøknerne Anna and Dagny Hjerrilds Foundation. They receive the scholarship for not using laboratory animals in their research.

2021.01.13 | Lise Wendel Eriksen

Karthika Rajeeve from the Department of Biomedicine (left) and Lene Baad-Hansen from the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health have both received a scholarship from the Frøknerne Anna and Dagny Hjerrilds Foundation for the abolition of animal testing in scientific research. Photo: Ida Jensen, AU Foto and Jann Zeiss, AU Health

 

Associate Professors Lene Baad-Hansen from the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, and Karthika Rajeeve from the Department of Biomedicine, conduct research in very different areas, but still have something in common; neither of them uses animal experimentation in their work, even though to do so would be an obvious choice. As a reward for their efforts they have each received a scholarship from the Frøknerne Anna and Dagny Hjerrilds Foundation for the abolition of animal testing in scientific research.

Each of the researchers receives a scholarship of DKK 100,000 to be used in their research activities.

Lene Baad-Hansen, associate professor and deputy head of department for research, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health

Lene Baad-Hansen conducts research into orofacial pain, which is typically experienced as intense and is associated with considerable discomfort and reduced quality of life among patients. Despite there being a long tradition of using animal experimentation in pain research, Lene Baad-Hansen has never used animal models in her research projects. Instead, she has largely made use of human experimental models for pain conditions, and her data is therefore based on healthy and voluntary test subjects.

Karthika Rajeeve, associate professor, Department of Biomedicine

Karthika Rajeeve is a biomedical researcher who studies disease mechanisms and pathogenetic interactions such as e.g. bacterial infections. Instead of using rats and mice in her research, Karthika Rajeeve utilises revolutionary technology such as organ cultivation and 3D tissue models, which physiologically better resemble the pathogenic interactions that take place in human tissue than animal models.

Contact

Associate Professor Lene Baad-Hansen
Aarhus University, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health
Mobile: (+45) 5140 1984
Email: lene.hansen@dent.au.dk

Associate Professor Karthika Rajeeve
Aarhus University, Department of Biomedicine
Email: karaj@biomed.au.dk

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