Jay Bhattacharya on shifting preclinical science to human-based methods: recommends

Bhattacharya recommends organoids, organ-on-chip, AI modeling, and other human-relevant systems over animal models for preclinical research, under the banner of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). In the September 21, 2026 NIH announcement of the five-initiative NAMs package, he said NIH was making “its biggest push yet to move biomedical research beyond animal model use,” and framed the goal as better translation: “to give researchers better tools to understand human disease and translate discoveries into treatments that improve patients’ lives.” His argument is that human-biology-grounded systems model human disease more faithfully than animals, improving the odds that preclinical findings translate into human treatments.

Animal-research advocates praised the direction: the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine called the steps “meaningful,” and NAVS called it “the scientific system we need next.” The announcement did not name individual awardees or break down funding by state, a transparency gap noted by Medical Daily.

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