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Bloomberg School Postdoc Receives LUSH Award for Work in Non-Animal Testing

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Felix E. Rivera-Mariani, a postdoctoral student in the Bloomberg School's Department of Environmental Health Sciences who works closely with the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, recently received the 2012 LUSH Young Researcher Award.

"This award will significantly contribute to my career in the fields of microbiology, immunology and immunotoxicology," said Rivera-Mariani, "[It will help me] apply these biological sciences to study the effect of environmental pollution—both biological and non-biological—in human health."

Every year, LUSH gives the Young Researcher Award to five postdoctoral students who specialize in alternative research in toxicology. It is a field often associated with animal testing, which turns many young scientists away. According to LUSH, those who do stay often find it hard to acquire funding to work on non-animal tests. By rewarding those who pursue toxicology without harming animals, LUSH hopes to attract more young scientists to the field.

Watch below as Rivera-Mariani—who is mentored by Thomas Hartung, MD, PhD and Patrick Breysse, PhD, MHS—explains his award-winning research.

Rivera-Mariani continued, "I will dedicate this funding to facilitate my attendance at national and international scientific meetings to present and promote scientific findings involving non-animal alternative methods."

The LUSH Prize is a collaboration between LUSH, a manufacturer and retailer of handmade cosmetics, and Ethical Consumer. The prize is one element of LUSH’s "Fighting Animal Testing" campaign.

Media contact: Tim Parsons, director of Public Affairs, at 410-955-7619 or tmparson@jhsph.edu.