MARTIN STEPHENS, Ph.D.
VICE PRESIDENT, ANIMAL RESEARCH ISSUES
Martin Stephens is vice president of the Animal Research Issues department, which develops and implements educational outreach and advocacy programs for the public and the research, product testing and education communities, including pressing for the replacement of animals used as research subjects.
Stephens and his staff have mobilized the federal government to address alternatives to distressful testing of Botox Cosmetic on animals, played a key role in passage of state legislation granting students the right to opt-out of dissection, as well as in securing passage of the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection Act in 2000. The CHIMP Act establishes a national sanctuary system for chimpanzees no longer used in biomedical research and allows post-research chimpanzees to live in naturalistic environments and integrated social groups, a vast improvement for those who have spent their lives behind bars in solitary confinement.
Stephens spearheaded the formation of the International Council for Animal Protection at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which successfully gained a formal voice at the OECD. The coalition promotes the development and use of alternative testing methods that can replace, reduce or refine animal-based procedures.
Stephens is a prominent voice for animals in policy networks that influence decisions regarding the use of animals or alternative methods in testing, including serving as a member of the committee on toxicity testing and assessment of environmental agents for The National Academies, a member of the scientific advisory committee on alternative toxicological methods to the U.S. National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences, and a member of the ocular expert panel for the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the validation of alternative methods.
Stephens received a doctorate in biology from the University of Chicago in 1984, a master's degree in biology from the University of Chicago in 1980 and a bachelor's degree from the City University of New York in 1978.
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