"Hi, I'm Dr. Stephen Ballera, Chief Scientific Officer for Discovery and Safety Assessment at Charles River Laboratories. I'm also the Vice Chair of a Scientific Advisory Board that supports our organization's NAMS initiatives. Charles River is the world's largest non-clinical research organization that supports the development of new therapeutics and have worked on 80% of the FDA-approved drugs over the last five years. We also partner across multiple industries, including animal health, chemicals, and consumer products. We bring safe and effective solutions to the market faster. We integrate NAMS with animal research in both the regulated and non-regulated space. We also use alternative methods where possible to replace or reduce animal use. Combining these approaches allows us to generate both robust data and actively apply the three R's principles of reduction, replacement, and refinement, while simultaneously we encourage our clients to do the same. Through our Alternative Methods Advancement Project, or AMAP, we are investing in NAMS through dedicated scientific leadership and through a cross-functional scientific advisory board that continuously evaluates new alternatives. Our efforts focus on key areas such as cardiovascular safety, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicology, and immunogenicity, all supported by targeted resources and laboratory innovation. We've implemented a range of NAMS to replace traditional animal tests, including methods for assessing eye irritation, skin irritation, and skin toxicity. We're also advancing approaches like virtual control groups, or VCGs, to reduce animal use and safety assessment while maintaining strong scientific outcomes."