I was very disturbed to learn that the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) will include three grants to fund animal research. These include experiments that will force rats to run on treadmills and implant electrodes to induce muscle contractions, supposedly to simulate resistance training.

It is scientifically insupportable to use animals to study precise molecular mechanisms in humans. This has been well demonstrated by the failure of animals in drug and chemical tests. These occur exactly due to the differences that occur at the molecular level between humans and animals and are widely acknowledged by scientists around the world.

The NIH Common Fund was created to fund programs that are transformative. Funding outdated and irrelevant animal experiments does not meet this criterion.

I object to my tax dollars being used to fund these inhumane and groundless animal experiments and request that MoTrPAC funding be awarded only to human relevant research.