On 28–29 October 2025, representatives from ECETOC, VHP4Safety, and ONTOX convened in Brussels, Belgium, for a joint workshop titled “Application of Digital Infrastructures Leveraging AI in Human Health Risk Assessment.”
This two-day event brought together regulators, scientists, and industry professionals to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can be trusted, validated, and effectively integrated into toxicological risk assessment.
Building Trust in AI for Risk Assessment
The workshop focused on strengthening confidence in AI-based tools, defining the level of transparency needed to make AI decision-making understandable, and examining validation methods for different applications. Participants also discussed the interoperability of digital infrastructures, such as the ONTOX OPRA and VHP4Safety platforms, and their alignment with other ongoing European initiatives.
Ethical aspects of using AI in human health and safety assessments were also addressed, fostering multi-stakeholder dialogue on how to make AI models scientifically robust, transparent, and practically useful.
Highlights and Hands-On Demonstrations
Sessions included demonstrations and hands-on activities featuring both ONTOX and VHP4Safety platforms, followed by discussions on first impressions, SWOT analyses, and future outlooks for platform applications.
The programme featured presentations such as:
- The role of AI-based technologies in data sharing projects supporting drug and chemical safety assessment – including insights from the eTRANSAFE and VICT3R projects by Dr. Ferran Sanz (eTRANSAFE, VICT3R )
- Probabilistic risk assessment by Dr. Alexandra Maertens (ONTOX)
- Virtual Human Platform for Safety Assessment: Co-creation of a useful and sustainable platform by Prof. Chris Evelo (VHP4Safety)
- Data integration, ontology, and AI by TJ Bozada (ONTOX)
Strong ONTOX Participation
ONTOX made significant contributions across sessions and within the organising committee. Key ONTOX representatives included Prof. Mathieu Vinken (ONTOX Coordinator), Dr. Cyrille Krul, Dr. François Busquet, and experts Dr. Karolina Kopanska, Monicah Kirathi, Dr. Erwin L. Roggen, Dr. Harm Heusinkveld, and Dr. Dominik Schwarz.
Marie Corradi (ONTOX), who served as rapporteur and breakout session presenter, reflected on the collaborative spirit of the event:
“This was an engaging event for Early-Stage Researchers, industry professionals, academia, and regulators to exchange on what shape AI should take for regulatory assessment. The discussions provided clear practical next steps for both ONTOX and VHP4Safety platforms.”
The organising committee also included Andrea Lopez and Dr. Blanca Serrano (ECETOC), Aniek de Winter and Dr. Cyrille Krul (VHP4Safety), and Dr. Maryam Zare Jeddi (Shell Global Solutions International BV).
Looking Ahead
The outcomes of the workshop will be compiled in a forthcoming report, setting the stage for future collaboration between ECETOC, VHP4Safety, and ONTOX. By involving potential end-users early in the development process, these initiatives aim to ensure that AI-driven approaches to human health risk assessment are not only scientifically sound but also trusted and usable in regulatory contexts.
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