Viola Bugada (Institute of Experimental Immunology, UZH) receives the Young 3Rs Investigator Award for her contribution to refining oral drug administration to rodents. Bugada specifically applied her method to encourage voluntary consumption of tamoxifen, a medication frequently used in research involving mice.

The awarded approach is less stressful for animals compared to traditional methods like forcefeeding. Her method improves the well-being of the animals, while ensuring accurate dosing and experimental outcomes. Additionally, the approach is cost-effective and easy for other research teams to adopt. Bugada’s approach is awarded for exemplifying implementation of refinement that can significantly benefit preclinical research involving water-insoluble drugs. “This new tamoxifen administration method contributes to a growing number of applications aimed at replacing invasive procedures with more animal-friendly alternatives that are equally accurate,” said Viola Bugada. “I hope our method will inspire other research teams to adopt similar approaches, further advancing the principles of the 3Rs and improving the quality of preclinical studies.”