Filipa Antunes, a researcher at ICVS, has won the ART 3R Award for 2025. Her project, “Intranasal Administration as a Minimally Invasive Alternative for Stem Cell-Based Parkinson’s Disease Therapy in Rodents,” has been awarded a €3,000 grant to explore a more humane and cost-effective method for treating Parkinson’s disease in animal models.
The ART 3R Awards, granted by Animal Research Tomorrow (ART), support innovative research that promotes the 3Rs: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement in animal research. Antunes’ research aims to replace invasive delivery methods for stem cell therapies with intranasal administration, which is safe, minimally invasive, and well-tolerated in animals.
Current methods, like intracranial (I.C.) injections, are invasive and come with significant risks. Antunes’ project aims to offer a non-invasive alternative that could provide similar therapeutic results without repeated procedures, reducing animal stress and improving ethical standards in research.
Filipa Antunes (center) with Belém Marques and António Salgado
The ART 3R Award will help Antunes and her team refine this promising delivery method and further advance Parkinson’s disease therapy. This award underscores ICVS’s commitment to ethical and innovative scientific research.
