This article is the first in a two-part series that will share details of the research, oversight and ethical implications of the work being done with animals on Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus. The second installation will be an overview of the research being done on campus and the steps the university takes to ensure the safe treatment of animals.
Most Tufts students know that infectious disease, consumer product safety and mental health treatment have all been researched using animals in laboratories.
On a daily basis, such testing also occurs within the confines of Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus. The psychology, biology and engineering departments - among others - raise, house and experiment with live animals in order to pursue scientific advancement.
Animal research at Tufts and most other research universities in the United States happens on many levels. At Tufts, animal-based research consists of field and laboratory research with invertebrates, such as insects and sea urchins, and vertebrates, such as mice, pigeons and monkeys. Both invertebrates and vertebrates are housed on campus in Barnum Hall and at the Department of Psychology, Bacon Hall at 530 Boston Ave.
Professor of Biology Michael Romero leads students in field research that studies the role of stress in wild animals. For Romero, the field is an opportunity to study the reactions of animals and the way they cope with stress in a pure and natural habitat.
Romero said that both field and in-house experiments are useful tools.
"In-house experiments are important because you have better control than when you are in the field," Romero said. "But field research is important because you are assured that the research is relevant to the real world. So they are answering different types of questions."
Romero and his students stressed that without field research and the opportunity to observe animals subjected to the stress variable, they might not be able to help people identify and manage stress.
"We think of stress as a disease," Romero said. "But it looks like in nature it is not a disease; it is a natural survival-response system."
At Tufts, invertebrates are studied most often in the biology department, but they are also the subject of interdisciplinary research. Professors in the engineering school are currently working with the biology department to study caterpillars and develop a new off-road vehicle that will mimic the way a caterpillar's many legs adjust to difficult terrain.
Larger vertebrates are housed in Bacon Hall and are used by the psychology department in a range of experiments. Professor of Psychology Joseph DeBold works with mice to study the effects of alcohol on aggressive behavior.
"Why is it that alcohol is associated with violence, especially when we know most individuals do not become aggressive - possibly sleepy - but some few become aggressive?" DeBold said.
In his research, alcohol is administered in controlled amounts to mice whose behaviors have been conditioned to drink.
Meredith Groff, a junior majoring in psychology, works with Professor of Psychology Klaus Miczek to study how squirrel monkeys respond to similar research. Groff works with the 24 squirrel monkeys that Tufts currently houses in Bacon Hall for research into alcohol's effects on aggressive behavior.
In this experiment, pure alcohol is diluted and sweetened with sugar and consumed by the monkeys themselves. Students then observe the animals' behavior to monitor aggression and the monkey's interactions with each other.
"We are conducting important, relevant research to figure out how these issues could relate to treatment of people for alcoholism or aggression," Groff said.
Last year, there were 40 to 50 monkeys on campus involved in the study, but the study is winding down. Next fall, the remaining 24 will be donated to a zoo in Florida.
According to Groff, the opportunity to be involved with animal research at Tufts has been an invaluable experience.
"Getting involved with research is by far the most worthwhile thing I have done in college so far," Groff said.
But research involving animals does not come without regulation. Field and lab research involving vertebrates done at Tufts and other universities must be approved of by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). This committee, mandated by the Department of Agriculture, must consist of a veterinarian, community members and a number of scientists who are dedicated to the appropriate use of animals in scientific research.
According to Romero, Tufts' IACUC committee chairman, the committee seeks to make sure an experiment is not redundant, uses as few animals as necessary and takes the best possible care to ensure an animal's safety.
"There is a general thought that all animal research is bad," Groff said. "I can't speak for other institutions, but here at Tufts we take very good care of our animals."
Most animal research at Tufts is funded through federal grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. According to DeBold, Tufts holds a considerable number of grants, which are extremely competitive to obtain.
"Less than 15 percent of eligible grants that the government would like to support are even funded," DeBold said. "The fact that so many Tufts professors in psychology, biology and in other departments around campus hold so many funded grants is a testament to the quality of research being done at Tufts."
