Jeffrey Thinschmidt, a scientific research manager in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, has been awarded the 2025 IQ Consortium and AAALAC International Global 3Rs Award for the Americas. This international honor recognizes major contributions to the “3Rs” of animal research — replacement, reduction and refinement — and celebrates his innovative approach to refining preclinical studies.
Thinschmidt’s award-winning paper, “An anesthetized rat assay for evaluating the effects of organophosphate-based compounds and countermeasures on intracranial EEG and respiratory rate,” introduces a method that allows seizure activity and breathing effects to be measured in anesthetized animals rather than conscious ones following exposures to a nerve agent surrogate. This refinement eliminates animal distress while still providing high-quality data for testing new drugs to treat symptoms associated with chemical weapon exposures.
The research was supported through a collaboration between Alchem Laboratories and UF and funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.
“I am truly honored to receive this award,” Thinschmidt said. “I am grateful to Drs. Charles J. Frazier, Scott Harden and James Talton for their contributions to this project, and I hope these methods are adopted in future studies to advance both lifesaving drug development and animal welfare.”