262 • Alternatives to Animal Use in Research, Testing, and Education 
were supported by 10 BIDs to study a range of 
research questions including computer analyses 
of cellular differentiation and homeostatic control 
mechanisms, modeling of bladder cancer and 
structure -activity relationships in drugs, simula- 
tions of renal function, imaging reconstruction and 
display of biological surfaces, and the modeling 
of artificial intelligence. These 54 projects ac- 
counted for close to $6 million in awards. 
Nonanimal models, including invertebrates and 
nonmammalian vertebrates in addition to those 
described above, account for approximately 26 
percent of NIH's projects and an average of 29 per- 
cent of the funds in any given year. Mammalian 
systems account for slightly more than 43 percent 
of the projects and about 46 percent of the dollars 
spent. Many projects use several systems at once. 
National Science Foundation 
NSF considers project proposals for support in 
all fields of science. Among its programs are eight 
that have potential to support alternatives -related 
research: 
• Behavioral and Neural Sciences, 
• Biotic Systems and Resources, 
• Information Science and Technology, 
• Mathematical and Computer Sciences, 
• Cellular Biosciences, 
• Molecular Biosciences, 
• Research Instrumentation and Equipment, 
and 
• Science and Engineering Education (21). 
The National Science Foundation normally does 
not support clinical research either with humans 
or animals, the development of animal models for 
specific diseases or conditions, or the development 
of drugs or other therapeutic procedures. For the 
most part, it supports only what can be classified 
as basic research. 
The character of research projects and models 
used in investigations funded by NSF varies widely. 
Table 12-1 indicates the distribution of the ap- 
proaches proposed in NSF research grants for fis- 
cal year 1 983 . In the categories that include living 
organisms, only those projects involving actual ex- 
perimentation manipulations have been included. 
Thus the data do not include studies on animals, 
plants, or micro-organisms that are observational 
or descriptive in nature; these might be ecologic 
studies, population dynamics, and studies of field 
behavior, for instance. However, field studies that 
included the actual capture of animals, involved 
invasive or noninvasive placement of electric track- 
ing devices, or used physiological sampling were 
included. 
In addition, NSF supports three additional 
awards that relate to the use of animals in research, 
although these projects do not directly use ani- 
mals . The first is a grant to the Institute of Labora- 
tory Animal Resources of the National Academy 
of Sciences for its activities in developing and mak- 
ing available to the biomedical community scien- 
tific and technical information on laboratory -ani- 
mal science resources. The other two, related to 
research on ethical issues surrounding the use of 
animals, originate in the Ethics and Values in 
Science and Technology (EVIST) program in NSF’s 
Directorate for Biological, Behavioral, and Social 
Sciences. 
Table 12-1.— Approaches Used in National Science Foundation Research Grants, Fiscal Year 1983 
Approach used 
Number of 
awards 
Range of award sizes 
(in thousands) 
Total expenditure 
Whole nonhuman primates 
33 
$9-$135 
$ 1,875,956 
Whole nonprimate vertebrates 
Culture of animal-derived components (cells, tissues, 
552 
2- 289 
32,872,503 
organs, or embryos) 
166 
6- 250 
8,368,526 
Mathematical modeling as an adjunct to animal use 
22 
9- 100 
747,079 
Mathematical modeling without animal use 
9 
25- 176 
657,000 
Invertebrates 
298 
5- 266 
18,451,785 
Micro-organisms 
428 
7- 250 
21,440,070 
Plants 
398 
9- 250 
20,288,332 
Total 
1 ,906 
$2-$289 
$104,701,251 
SOURCE: B.L. Umminger, Deputy Director, Division of Cellular Biosciences, National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, personal communication, 1984. 
