93: Human Relevant Testing: A Conversation on Enhancing Human Health and Animal Welfare with Dr. Aysha Akhtar (S9)

Send us a textEpisode 6 of Series 9: Unveiling Vegan Culture TranscriptThis Episode explores the transition from traditional animal experimentation to human-relevant testing methods with guest Dr. Aysha Akhtar. This  thought-provoking conversation is about the ethical, scientific, and practical limitations of animal testing in favor of more accurate, human-relevant methodologies like organ-on-a-chip technology.  Guest: Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H., is the Co-founder, President, and CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences, (CCS) which is pioneering the transition to replace the use of animals in experimentation with superior human-based testing methods. A military veteran, she is a double-board certified neurologist and preventive medicine specialist. She served as Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Traumatic Brain Injury Program. As a Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Dr. Akhtar frequently deployed to assist with national public health emergencies.For a decade, Aysha was a Medical Officer at the Food and Drug Administration, most recently in the Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats,  Her work has appeared in numerous articles and she has been interviewed for the New Yorker, New York Times, National Geographic, and WIRED, among others.  Publications include the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Pediatrics, Journal of Public Health Policy, Lancet, and Reviews in the Neurosciences. Aysha is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.  Our Symphony With Animals. On Health, Empathy and Our Shared Destinies and Animals and Public Health.  Book Recommendation: Animal Liberation Now by Peter Singer and www.jonathanbalcombe.comWhat a Fish Knows (NYTimes bestseller)Super Fly (National Outdoor Book Award winner)Jake and Ava: A Boy and a Fish (illustrated children's book)Support the showShow Credits⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Read the Blog! (Guest profiles, book recommendations, trailers and more!) What to start your own podcast in he Animal Advocacy or Animal Welfare Space? Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast Mentoring Services⁠⁠⁠⁠! ⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a Patron! ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the NewsletterMentioned in this episode:PHAIR Conference CoverageNew Miniseries begins Summer 2026