Herbert Stiller Research Grant 2023

The NGO Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE; Ärzte gegen Tierversuche e.V.) announces the Herbert Stiller Research Grant to support animal-free research. The grant is awarded for excellent innovative research focusing on the investigation and therapy of human diseases. Supported projects should significantly contribute to medical progress by employing animal-free, human-based approaches such as in vitro studies or clinical and epidemiological investigations into the causes of the diseases of civilization.

The research grant, named after one of DAAE’s co-founders, Dr. Herbert Stiller (1923-1984), specialist in neurology, psychiatry and psychotherapy, was awarded a total of 7 times in the 1990s and 2000s. Earmarked sponsorship funds made a new grant possible in 2019. Since then, the grant is issued in two-year intervals and will be awarded again this year. 

Application criteria

Innovative and human-relevant projects in the medical or biomedical field can be submitted including human-based in vitro models, in silico analyses or clinical and epidemiological studies. Researchers located in Germany or other German-speaking countries are eligible to apply. Applications must meet the following criteria:

• The planned research work must not involve any animal experiments and all materials used within the project must be animal-free (e.g. no FCS or animal-derived antibodies).
• The project should address a new, innovative topic or pursue a new methodological approach, aiming to provide at a significant contribution to medical progress and to the elimination of specific animal tests (reduction and refinements projects are not accepted).
• The projects should not be funded by other third-parties at the time the application is submitted.
• Applicants should identify with DAAE’s principles and goals, this means the abolition of all animal experiments and testing on ethical and scientific grounds.
• Applicants who have received the Herbert Stiller Research Grant in the last 4 years cannot apply.
• The project duration should not exceed 2 years. An informal progress report has to be submitted after the first year, and a final report has to be delivered after the second year.
• By accepting the grant, the award winners declare themselves willing to present their project at a public event (either in person or online). A summary of the study will also be published on the homepage and social media channels of Doctors Against Animal Experiments.

Funding type and amount

The personal research grant amounts to € 20.000 and is awarded every two years. The funding is provided by earmarked donations.

Funding purpose

The research grant is awarded to scientists focused on animal-free research. In particular, we aim to motivate young scientists to use and develop modern non-animal technologies.

Funding is intended for original, human-relevant research projects that contribute significantly to promoting medical progress and permanently abolishing animal experiments in a certain area.

Winner selection

The awardee(s) will be selected by the scientific department of Doctors Against Animal Experiments consisting of biological scientists and medical professionals.

Application documents

Application deadline: 31st May 2023

The application documents (in German or English) should contain a description of the research project, a tabular curriculum vitae with a publication list of the project leader / main applicant, and a list of all participating scientists including affiliations. The project description should include the following points:

1. Abstract (½ page)
2. Research objectives and relevance for human medicine (1 page)
3. Project time plan, scientific background, all used research methods, information on the animal-free origin of relevant materials such as cell media components, antibodies and enzymes, preliminary work when available (max. 6 pages)
4. Explanation of the importance for animal welfare (1 page)
5. A reference list 

Please send your application (pdf format) to filipova@herbert-stiller-preis.de 

Contact person

Dr. Dilyana Filipova
E-mail: filipova@aerzte-gegen-tierversuche.de
Phone: +49 2203-90409-85