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Science in motion: explore ONTOX’s latest strides! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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Welcome to the ONTOX newsletter #15!
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Towards the Legacy and Sustainability of ONTOX
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The ONTOX project concluded its 4th Annual meeting on 23–24 April in the vibrant city of Valencia, Spain. Bringing together project partners, international researchers, and the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), the event provided a vital platform to reflect ONTOX's achievements and chart the course ahead as the project enters its final year in 2026. The event focused on building the foundations of OPRA—ONTOX's cutting-edge algorithm tailored for next-generation probabilistic risk assessment—and the ONTOX Hub, a powerful platform that will provide end users with tools developed during the project. "The ONTOX project is continuing to develop approaches for using New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to predict of adverse effects associated with negative human health outcomes. It is exciting to see how literature-based, in vitro and in silico information will come together in a practical way to help end users making decisions on chemical safety," commented Patience Browne, SAB member and principal administrator at the OECD.
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The meeting's highlight was the Early-Stage Researchers poster session, focused on their outstanding work in NAMs. Following a careful review by the SAB, Devon Barnes (Utrecht University) was presented with the Best Poster Award for his exceptional poster on the development of an in vitro battery for predicting nephrotoxicity.
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ASPIS Academy Summer School
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The Summer School, organised by ASPIS Early-Stage Researchers, occurred from 24 to 25 April in Valencia. Under the “Let’s Talk About Data!” theme, the program featured a networking event and interactive sessions with scientific communication and data management experts. |
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The event focused on research output management, data visualisation, and science communication—all crucial for young scientists, driving the transition to New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).
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New Tutorial in Physiological Maps series
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A new tutorial introduces MINERVA, a web-based platform designed to visualize and analyze complex biological networks. Alessio Gamba (University of Liège) explains how MINERVA plays a crucial role in integrating and interpreting large-scale biological data, supporting the development of animal-free toxicity assessment methods, not only in the ONTOX project.
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Through this tutorial series, ONTOX researchers elucidate the concept of Physiological Maps and explain how to use the two main computer tools employed in their development. Previous episodes introduced the Physiological Maps (by Bernard Staumont, University of Liège) and CellDesigner tool (by Luiz Ladeira, University of Liège).
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New ONTOX research papers
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DockTox: Targeting molecular initiating events in organ toxicity through molecular docking
Ortega Vallbona R., Cortés D. T., Carpio L. E., Coto Palacio J. C., Roncaglioni A., Garcia de Lomana M., Gadaleta D., Benfenati E., Gozalbes R., Candelas E. S.
Toxicology | April 2025
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Mapping physiology: A systems biology approach for the development of alternative methods in toxicology
Staumont B., Ladeira L., Gamba A., Heusinkveld H. J., Piersma A., Fritsche E., Masereeuw R., Vanhaecke T., Teunis M., Luechtefeld T. H., Hartung T., Jover R., Vinken M., Geris L.
Alternatives to Animal Experimentation | April 2025
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From big data to smart decisions: artificial intelligence in kidney risk assessment
Barnes D., Ladeira L., Masereeuw R.
Nature Reviews Nephrology | April 2025
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Predicting Liver-Related In Vitro Endpoints with Machine Learning to Support Early Detection of Drug-Induced Liver Injury
Garcia de Lomana M., Gadaleta D., Raschke M., Fricke R., Montanari F.
Chemical Research in Toxicology | March 2025
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ASPIS Open Symposium 2025
The 5th annual ASPIS Open Symposium will be held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 18 September 2025, right after the EUROTOX Congress.
The symposium will present the latest work of the ASPIS cluster formed by the three Horizon 2020 consortia: ONTOX, PrecisionTox, and RISK-HUNT3R, focusing on the implementation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for chemical risk assessment.
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New on ONTOX TV
US SOT 2025
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How have ONTOX and ASPIS contributed to the US SOT? Watch the interviews featuring Mathieu Vinken (ONTOX coordinator; ASPIS chair) and Peter Pôbiš (ONTOX; ASPIS Academy Core Team member), where they unfold the crucial work of these innovative initiatives.
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Work Packages in Action
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A new video series unravels the effort of 14 ONTOX Work Packages. Each team is crucial to bringing ONTOX and society closer to a functional and sustainable solution for chemical risk assessment without using animals. Watch the first short episodes!
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