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Catharine E. Krebs, PhD

Medical Research Specialist

Catharine E. Krebs, PhD, is a medical research specialist with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nationwide organization of physicians and laypersons that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research and medical training.

At the Physicians Committee, one of Dr. Krebs’ main goals is to push the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, toward the most responsible and effective biomedical practices in numerous areas including Alzheimer’s disease, mental health, and translational sciences. She monitors the agency’s funding priorities, research strategies, and policies for opportunities to meaningfully engage NIH leadership and staff, researchers, lawmakers, Physicians Committee members, and the public. Dr. Krebs consistently urges for the prioritization of nonanimal, human-based approaches in order to advance public health and reduce health disparities experienced by vulnerable populations. She also advocates for improved ethics training, practices, and policies in biomedical research in an effort to shift outdated and rudimentary ethical paradigms.

In addition to NIH engagement, Dr. Krebs leads a project to improve biomedical research publishing standards. This work aims to encourage more rigorous editorial oversight and peer review to prevent the publication of work that fails to meet basic ethical principles and to combat bias against innovative nonanimal methods. She also leads efforts to increase research protections for cephalopods, the class of animals including octopuses and squids, which aren’t covered by the U.S. animal welfare laws and regulations that affect federally funded laboratories.

Dr. Krebs is a member of the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. 

Prior to joining the Physicians Committee, Dr. Krebs performed human genetics research in laboratories at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the University of California Los Angeles, which earned her publications and presentations at top national and international meetings. She received her doctorate in human genetics from the University of California Los Angeles, with a dissertation focused on psychiatric genetics and genomics. She received her bachelor’s degree in neural science from New York University.

Read more about Dr. Krebs’s latest work:

For Greater Success in the Clinic, NIH Must Overcome Its Reliance on Animals

We Don’t Need More Monkeys, We Need a New Strategy to Test Vaccines

The Physicians Committee Recommends Human-Based Research for COVID-19, Not More Animals

Krebs CE, Lam A, Sullivan K. Confronting publishing bias against in vitro approaches. Presented at: 11th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences, August 31, 2021

Krebs CE. Animal testing isn't our only option — NIH needs to invest in alternatives. The Hill. September 4, 2020. https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/515095-animal-testing-isnt-our-only-option-nih-needs-to-invest-in-alternatives.

Nymark P, Sachana M, Batista Leite S, et al. Systematic Organization of COVID-19 Data Supported by the Adverse Outcome Pathway Framework. Frontiers in Public Health. 2021; 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.638605.