The significant reduction in the use of animal models for teaching at UK universities is creating a skills shortage among life science undergraduates and new studies led by Kingston University have been undertaken to examine the suitability of using invertebrate and non-mammalian models as ethical alternatives for practical training.

A series of four joint studies, published in the American Physiological Society’s Advances in Physiology Education journal, have been conducted after government figures showed that the number of animals used for education and training in the UK declined from 5,771 in 2001 to just 857 in 2022 – a fall of 85.2 per cent, mainly due to ethical, financial and practical barriers.

The decline in ‘in vivo’ (studies conducted in a living organism) learning is a growing concern, with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry reporting this is leaving students with a shortage of the skills that are crucial for the next generation of researchers developing new medicines and therapeutics for the benefit of all.

Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at Kingston University Dr Nick Freestone led a group of academics who worked in collaboration to investigate whether invertebrate and non-mammalian models could be a suitable alternative for skills training of students in the Life Sciences.

Alongside peers from the University of Leeds, University of Shefield and Swansea University, Dr Freestone studied three organisms that do not require a government licence and offer clear educational advantages – the zebrafish, the fruit fly and blackworm.

The transparency of the zebrafish (Dario rerio) allows students to easily visualise a beating heart and study the effects of drugs or temperature on heart rate without the need for dissection or risking animal distress.

Ideal for studying neurodegeneration, the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) allows students to directly observe the impact of gene mutation on locomotor and learning deficits. This creates a tangible link between molecular techniques taught in class and the resulting pathophysiological mechanisms of disease.

The blackworm’s utility for teaching behavioural pharmacology also makes it a credible alternative to working with higher order species such as mammals. As an invertebrate, like the zebrafish, it is exempt from the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Classes can be set up simply to measure the worms’ response to drug exposure – removing the current barriers to ‘in vivo’ education.

The studies’ findings have highlighted how adopting non-traditional lower order species can provide inspirational educational experiences and decrease the reliance on historically used mammals, reflected Dr Freestone. “Using these teaching strategies can help produce highly employable and qualified graduates who possess the hands-on research skills necessary to continue contributing to the development of new medicines and therapeutics, while helping close the growing skills gap we have seen in the life sciences over recent times,” he said.