DELHI, India, April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Made-in-India Solution Honored With PETA's Progressive Medical Education Software Award for Paving the Way in Transformative Learning and Ethical Education 

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, was recently awarded the inaugural Progressive Medical Education Software Award by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The award was presented to the locally-developed Elsevier Animal Simulator software, which recreates a virtual animal laboratory for students to learn without having to maim or kill animals for dissection.

PETA is the largest animal rights organization in the world that recognizes individuals or organizations dedicated to animal welfare through their efforts to save and protect animals from cruelty.

"Globally, millions of animals are used in classroom pharmacology and physiology experiments as well as for medical training drills," said Poorva P Joshipura, CEO, PETA India. "With the availability of sophisticated technologies as well as growing ethical concerns in this day and age, there is no excuse for such experiments to be conducted on animals. Furthermore, not only are animals harmed by these experiments and tests. Many students of medical education are uncomfortable with and oppose the use of animals in education, with some even being dissuaded from pursuing careers in science. As such, we commend Elsevier for taking the humane treatment of animals into consideration in developing innovative medical education solutions."

According to Dr. Ramasamy Raveendran, one of the authors of the Animal Simulator and Professor of Pharmacology at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research in India, the Animal Simulator is designed to facilitate medical education, empower self-learning and reduce the number of animals used for experimentation. "It is very fulfilling to know that not only does the software benefit students in many educational institutions around the world, it also helps preserve the lives of a large number of animals."

"The Elsevier Animal Simulator brings together high-quality, evidence-based content and cutting-edge technology to deliver an innovative medical education solution that sets the benchmark for transformative learning," said Terig Hughes, Elsevier's Managing Director of Health Solutions for South Asia and South-East Asia. "It's an honor to be recognized by PETA for the work we do here in India, and we're proud that this locally-developed software is making a distinctive difference in the community by paving the way towards a more humane and ethical education not just in India but also across the globe."

Conceptualized and developed in India, the Elsevier Animal Simulator addresses local education regulations that call for replacing the use of animals in teaching with modern, non-animal teaching methods covering over 25 types of experiments in pharmacology and physiology. Almost 20 percent of medical colleges in India have adopted the Elsevier Animal Simulator, including AIIMS-Bhopal, AIIMS-Rishikesh, AIIMS-Jodhpur, M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College and Calcutta Medical College.

The computer-assisted learning tool uses interactive media content to help undergraduate and postgraduate medical students understand experimental skills and how animals respond to various chemicals and stimuli. It is available to medical and pharmacy colleges worldwide, and is currently used in colleges such as IBN Sina National College for Medical Sciences in Saudi Arabia, Durham University in the UK and Maryland University in the US.

For more information on the Elsevier Animal Simulator, please visit http://www.animalsimulator.com.

About Elsevier: 

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 33,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. http://www.elsevier.com

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SOURCE Elsevier