People – «Responsible, Realistic, Receptive!»

1. Describe yourself in 3 words beginning with R.

Responsible —For me, responsibility means improving scientific quality by replacing, reducing and refining animal use, being transparent about animal use, and following through on the implementation of 3Rs methodologies. I feel genuinely honoured to have the chance to help build the Swiss 3R Competence Centre (3RCC) and, through it, the sustained legacy of NRP 79.

Realistic — I aim for the most impactful outcomes with limited means: the 3RCC has a mandate to serve more than 20,000 life-science researchers in Swiss academia, as well as industry and regulatory stakeholders on an annual budget of below CHF 5 million. That means focused and strategic prioritisation! We aim to fund projects with scientific outcomes that can be transferred to many labs, education programmes that can be scaled, partnerships that share cost and practical support aimed at improving good 3Rs practice.

Receptive — I spend time listening to the many people who live the 3Rs every day: researchers, animal welfare officers, members of the ethics committees, regulators, funders, industry representatives and members of the international 3Rs community. Each face different challenges in implementing the 3Rs — I try to understand their perspective when it comes to the 3Rs and what “better” looks like for each of them, and to reflect this in the actions of the 3RCC.

2. What motivated you to take on the role as representative of the Federal Administration in NRP 79?

The NRP 79 is a rare opportunity to advance not only breakthrough 3R methodologies, but also to understand mindsets, incentives and frameworks that determine whether those methods are adopted. The 3RCC is well placed to carry these outcomes forward: we already fund research, educate professionals and engage across all stakeholder groups involved in 3Rs implementation. The results of NRP 79 will guide our future strategic priorities—where we direct funding, which trainings we expand, and which collaborations we grow. It is very inspiring to support the NRP 79 in its diverse project portfolio and through these activities Switzerland sets a leading example in broadly promoting 3R research.

3. How can the Swiss Animal Welfare Act help further minimise the use of animal experiments in research without compromising the quality and reliability of scientific findings?

We strengthen 3R research by prioritising implementation alongside the development of new methods. The projects we fund must show tangible gains in advancing alternatives and their uptake, or in improving approaches that reduce and refine animal use where replacement is not yet possible. Our four funding tracks reflect this balance: 3Rs Project Grants and the 3Rs Doctorate Programme focus on methodology development; 3Rs Support Grants seek to bridge concrete implementation hurdles and the Knowledge Transfer Microgrants enable direct method adoption and mentoring across sectors. Beyond funding, we work directly with stakeholders through hackathons and targeted workshops that equip researchers and 3R professionals to solve practical problems. Progress in the 3Rs rests on method development, effective dissemination and training, as well as open engagement across stakeholders and the 3RCC’s role is to facilitate this.

Subject areas and areas of interest

• Implementation of NAMs

• 3Rs knowledge transfer

• Training for best 3Rs practice

• Stimulating innovation for 3Rs