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From final milestones to future impact: ONTOX legacy, recognition, and innovation ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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Welcome to the final ONTOX newsletter!
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Final ONTOX Annual Meeting Highlighted Five Years of Progress in Next-Generation, Animal-Free Toxicology
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ONTOX held its fifth and final Annual Meeting on 30 September and 1 October 2026 at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. With the project approaching its formal conclusion on 31 October, the meeting brought the ONTOX community together to reflect on more than five years of collaborative research and to discuss how the knowledge, methods, computational tools and scientific networks established during the project can continue beyond its lifetime.
Since May 2021, 19 partners from Europe and the United States have worked together to advance New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for repeated-dose toxicity assessment and support more human-relevant, animal-free chemical safety assessment.
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The final meeting underlined that ONTOX’s legacy lies not in a single method or platform, but in the combination of mechanistic knowledge, experimental NAMs, computational approaches, data, case studies, trained researchers and collaborations that can continue to develop after the project ends.
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"The young scientists trained through ONTOX are a particularly important part of this legacy, because they will continue to test, improve and implement these methods.” – emphasised Paul Whaley, member of the ONTOX Scientific Advisory Board.
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ONTOX Hub & Marketplace Officially Launched
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The ONTOX Hub & Marketplace brings together NAM and NGRA tools, computational resources, services and expertise developed across the consortium, designed to support accessibility and use beyond the project.
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ProtoQSAR Integrated ProtoPRED® into ToxIndex
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ONTOX partner ProtoQSAR and ToxIndex developer Insilica have integrated more than 60 ProtoPRED® predictive models into the platform, supporting faster, more transparent and efficient in silico assessments.
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From AI innovation to regulatory trust
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ONTOX's experience is feeding into a new OECD project developing guidance for trustworthy AI in chemical safety assessment. Italy (ISS) and Slovakia (CEM) are leading the OECD initiative, which will help to connect AI innovations with regulatory use.
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ONTOX Technology validation report submitted to OECD
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The ONTOX Deliverable 6.4 – Validation Report was submitted to the OECD in October 2026. The report highlights the achievements of the ONTOX project, with a particular focus on innovative in vitro, in silico, and AI-based tools and approaches with the potential to support regulatory chemical safety assessment and their future integration into regulatory frameworks. The report will be made publicly available on the ONTOX website following its final approval by the project reviewers, expected in January 2027. Stay connected with ONTOX! Visit the ONTOX website to explore what the project has achieved so far and discover the additional scientific outputs, tools, and resources that will continue to emerge from ONTOX beyond the project's official completion.
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Five Years of ASPIS Culminated in Maastricht
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The fifth and final ASPIS Open Symposium brought researchers, regulators, industry and early-career scientists together to reflect on five years of progress and the path towards regulatory uptake.
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ASPIS Academy Shares its Blueprint for Early-Stage Researchers
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A new NAM Journal article captures how the ASPIS Academy developed as a cross-project network for training, mentoring, networking and collaboration, sharing practical lessons for future initiatives.
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A Final Message from the ASPIS Academy
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As the Academy closes its current chapter, its Core Team reflects on the connections, opportunities and lessons that shaped the Academy, with a message for the next generation of researchers.
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New ONTOX research papers
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Integrated in vitro/in silico test battery for the prediction of chemical-induced cholestatic liver toxicity
Drees A., Benfenati E., Gadaleta D., Gozalbes R., Garcia de Lomana M., Jiang J., Maerten A., Ortega-Vallbona R., Serrano-Candelas E., Sanz-Serrano J., Vinken M.
Toxicology | November 2026
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Comparative transcriptomics reveals shared stress and repair-associated pathway modules in proximal tubule cells exposed to platinum chemotherapeutics
Barnes D. A., Redegeld F. A., Verheijen M., Masereeuw R.
Toxicology | September 2026
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ASPIS Academy: A blueprint for building early-career researcher networks to advance NAM-based risk assessment
Ladeira L., Martinez R, Hayot G., Islam B., Veltmane Ch. H. J., Sanz-Serrano J., Khalidi H., Ortega-Vallbona R., Corradi M., Collen E., Steinbach A. M., Gabrišová K., Pôbiš P., Barnes D., Glasgow S. M., Niemeijer M., Zajac J. D., Ormanin-Lewandowska A, Moné M. J., van de Water B., Colbourne J. K., Vinken M., Tangianu S., Kandarova H., Pallocca G., Busquet F., Kuchovska E.
NAM Journal | August 2026
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An AOP-guided in vitro platform for mechanistic screening of platinum-based nephrotoxicity
Barnes D. A., Redegeld F. A., Masereeuw R.
NAM Journal | July 2026
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Thank you for being part of the journey!
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