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Media Coverage University of Iowa target of animal rights group - Members say research done to win grants Friday, February 11, 2005 An Ohio-based animal rights group attacked the University of Iowa's
use of animal research Thursday, saying UI conducts research for grant
money and not for science. "The careers of these scientists reveal a tragic irony: Under the
guise of alleviating mental suffering in humans they induce distress,
injure and kill animals who are intentionally bred to be docile," said
Leana Stormont, Midwest coordinator for Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!,
during a news conference. UI officials refute the claims and say they follow strict national
standards regarding proper research protocol for laboratory animals. "We do not engage in unnecessary animal research; nor do we conduct
research for the purpose of monetary gain," UI Provost Michael Hogan and
Bill Decker, UI interim vice president for research, said in a
statement. Calling out supposed NIH-funded animal experiments, Stormont targeted
researcher Gary Van Hoesen, a UI professor of anatomy, cell biology and
neurology, for his research on macaque monkeys. "This is not about science," she said about research she called a
"senseless waste of lives and tax dollars." "This is about money --
attracting hundreds of thousands of dollars to UI's coffers." However, Van Hoesen said he has not used monkeys since 1982. He now
conducts research on the human brain related to Alzheimer's disease. He
called Stormont's comments about money and science "shortsighted." The National Institutes of Health last year funded about $22 billion
in grants to universities and research institutions nationwide. Of those
research projects, more than 50 percent have an animal component, and
most of the animals are rodents, such as rats, mice and guinea pigs,
according to the NIH. In fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, UI had $170 million in NIH
awards, said Jennifer Lassner, assistant director of UI Sponsored
Programs. Stormont, 30, a UI law school student who conducted the news
conference in front of Spence Laboratories at Iowa and Gilbert streets,
said S.A.E.N. is not connected to the Animal Liberation Front, a
decentralized worldwide animal rights group. ALF members allegedly vandalized Spence Laboratories and Seashore
Hall in November 2004, removing animals, spilling chemicals and damaging
computers. ALF claimed responsibility for destroying the research of
targeted psychology department members in an e-mail sent to media Nov.
18. Stormont, the lone speaker, said UI conducts repetitive research. She
also said if people want to find cures for human diseases, they should
use humans in clinical trials. In addition, she suggested researchers
use alternative testing methods, such as computer modeling. Stormont also targeted was Amy Poremba, a UI assistant professor in
the psychology department, who also was one of several researchers whose
work the Animal Liberation Front vandalized. She is conducting research
on primates to study how the brain learns and remembers things. Poremba said if she mistreated her animals they would not cooperate.
"We of course want to treat our animals well," Poremba said. "I'm
asking the animals to make decisions about the sounds." She added that NIH grants are heavily scrutinized for redundancy and
difficult to get. S.A.E.N. has filed requests for copies of all active primate research
protocols, primate health care records and necropsy reports for the last
two years, Stormont said. Chuck Green, director of UI Public Safety, said a committee formed
after the ALF attack continues to meet about campus security. He would
not comment on specific security in Spence Labs or Seashore Hall. Reach Kristen Schorsch at 339-7360 or
kschorsch@press-citizen.com
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