Launched in 2014, the Provost’s Awards for excellence in animal research acknowledged staff who have made advances in the 3Rs, shown openness or demonstrated a long-term commitment to improving research practice.
Winners of the previous editions can be found in the Annual Reports.
Award winners for 2026
Application of the 3Rs, researchers - co winners
Dr Guichard Jean Baptiste, National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) - The awardee successfully introduce a Restraint-Free procedure for Chronic Rodent Disease Models. Guichard developed and introduced a stress-free dosing method for obese Zucker rats that completely removed the need for restraint during more than 1,600 treatments, while also improving housing and welfare practices. This reduced animal distress, improved the reliability of cardiovascular data, and has now become the standard approach used across the research programme.
, Department of Infectious Disease - The awardee replaced animal testing for eczema-related Staphylococcus aureus infection research with a new system using human skin samples, machine learning, and mathematical modelling to develop better treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Together with his collaborators, he improved scientific accuracy, reduce animal use, and create new microbiome-based therapies for patients with Atopic Dermatitis.
Application of the 3Rs, CBS Staff - Teresa Boreham, Facility Manager; Shakara Stewart, Animal Technician; Charred Basco, Animal Technician; Mark Harrington, Advance Animal Technician; George Zimmerman, Advance Technician; Katarzyna Smigielska, Senior Animal Technician; Edgar Ibarguen, Senior Animal Technician; Catherine Underwood, Animal Technician.
These awardee succesffull introduced the Ghost Sentinel Filters trial leading to the replacement of the use of sentinel animals across all animal units at Imperial CBS for mice and rats. This has reduced/replaced the number of animals from approximately 542 per year to zero. The CBS team at South Kensington were instrumental performing this trial that has had a big impact on the rest of the CBS facilities at Imperial.
Public Engagement award - , LMS Research Operations Manager; , LMS Head of Communications and Engagement; , LMS Science Communications Officer; , research associate; Amy Wathen, NTCO; , Communications and 3Rs Programme Manager.
They receieve the award for the “Animal Research 3Rs” stand at the 2025 Great Exhibition Road Festival which attracted more than 2,000 visitors and was voted the third most popular activity, making it a highly successful public engagement event about animal research and welfare. The project succeeded through strong collaboration between staff at 天美传媒, MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, and Understanding Animal Research.