Nobel Prize
Since the first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901, the prizes have given public recognition to the world's greatest medical advances. According to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, the Nobel Prizes are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.".
Of the 114 Nobel Prizes that have been awarded for research into Physiology and Medicine, more than 80% have involved animal testing.
You can view a list of all Nobel Prize winning research that involved animal testing and which species were used at animalresearch.info
Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine: Facts
114
Nobel prizes have been awarded between 1901 and 2023
227
people have become Nobel Laureates
101
Prizes used animals in their research
Which animal species have been used in Nobel Prize research?
The table below details the animal species that have appeared most often in Nobel Prize winning research. Please note that some research projects used multiple species. Want to know which animal species were used for a specific Nobel Prize project? Go to animalresearch.info
Animal Species |
Number of Nobel Prizes |
Mice |
40 |
Rats |
31 |
Guinea pigs |
20 |
Dogs |
18 |
Rabbits |
18 |
Frogs |
13 |
Cats |
10 |
Birds |
10 |
Cows |
10 |
Flies |
10 |
Monkeys |
9 |
Horses |
8 |
Read our in-depth breakdown of the animal research behind recent Nobel Prizes
For more facts and figures on animal research and Nobel Prizes go to animalresearch.info
For more general facts and figures on Nobel Prizes go to nobelprize.org