Read fresh news about the ONTOX scientists' highlights and more!
|
|
Welcome to the ONTOX newsletter #7!
|
|
|
|
ONTOX's second annual meeting was a huge success
 | |
Following ONTOX's second birthday on 1 May 2023, the annual meeting offered a comprehensive overview of the project's achievements for the past year. The event occurred on 3 & 4 May at the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri in Milan, Italy, one of the ONTOX partners.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
During the meeting, the Scientific Advisory Board reviewed the project's results and expressed satisfaction with the progress made since May 2022. For the first time, the meeting also featured a poster contest for young ONTOX scientists working towards testing chemicals without using animals.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | |
The Scientific Advisory Board awarded the Best Poster Award to Dr. Luiz Carlos Maia Ladeira from the Université de Liège, Belgium. Dr. Ladeira's exceptional poster, "Physiological Maps Curation Guidelines," stood out for its outstanding content and presentation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stakeholder Network meeting mapped barriers for NAMs
 | |
The first ONTOX Stakeholder Network meeting was held on 13 & 14 March in Brussels, Belgium, where regulators, industry, academia, and NGOs mapped barriers, drivers, and issues for implementing New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA).
|
|
|
|
|
|
A comprehensive overview of this event will be published in the upcoming ONTOX publication. The identified challenges will be elaborated on during the forthcoming first ONTOX hackathon. Additionally, the meeting featured the introduction of a concise paper on PRA from the ONTOX perspective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ONTOX scientists highlighted in the media
 | |
Dr. Eliška Kuchovská was the first guest on the newly launched podcast by the In2TOX section of EUROTOX. Eliška delved into the field of developmental neurotoxicology, highlighting the ONTOX's role in chemical testing and her experience as a young scientist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the EUROTOX podcast's second episode, Dr. Harm Heusinkveld explored the discovery of how chemicals can impact the brain and the persistent challenges in effectively implementing regulations to reduce risks associated with human exposure to neurotoxic substances.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | |
During a recent ASCCT-ESTIV webinar, Job Berkhout and Devon Barnes showcased their ONTOX research. Job presented computational modelling of neural tube closure defect. Devon shared insights on the development of an adverse outcome pathway for kidney tubular necrosis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
ONTOX coordinator Prof. Mathieu Vinken went live in TOXstreams by Altertox. With his Vrije Universiteit Brussel team (Jonas van Ertvelde, Anouk Verhoeven and Jian Jiang), he explained the ONTOX project and ASPIS cluster activities.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ASPIS Open Symposium 2023
The ASPIS Open Symposium will take place on 14-15 September 2023 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, after the EUROTOX Congress 2023. The Symposium intends to present the latest work of the ASPIS cluster, formed by the three Horizon 2020 consortia: ONTOX, PrecisionTox, and RISK-HUNT3R. The event will focus on the implementation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for chemical risk assessment. Participants external to the ASPIS cluster are invited to join the open part of the event on 14 September 2023.
|
|
|
|
|
LGBTIQA+ inclusion in STEM
ONTOX consortium proudly supports the LGBTIQA+ community and celebrates diversity. On the occasion of the approaching Pride Month, the ASPIS cluster (ONTOX, PrecisionTox, and RISK-HUNT3R) and ALTERTOX Academy are preparing an online event on LGBTIQA+ inclusion in STEM. This activity will be done closely with PRISMA, the EU's first LGBTIQA+ Association in STEM.
Follow ONTOX on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to hear more details about this event!
|
|
|
|
|
Other project news ASPA introduced at the PARERE
 | |
ONTOX and ASPIS cluster members participated in the March PARERE meeting at the Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy. They presented the ASPA (ASPIS Safety Profiling Algorithm), defining a tiered approach on what tools and methods to use in the Next Generation Risk Assessment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
New practical video by VUB
 | |
ONTOX partner Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) demonstrated the set-up of human-based 3D spheroid liver models for fundamental non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and liver cancer in the video created by the European Association for the Study of the Liver.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NIPH supported the PFAS restriction proposal
 | |
ONTOX partner Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) work on in vitro testing and exposure assessments to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) served as the base for the proposal to ECHA calling for a ban of PFAS as a group rather than regulating one substance at a time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
ONTOX women scientists' contributions at a glance
 | |
Have you missed the special ONTOX newsletter about the ONTOX female scientists? We honoured the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by highlighting the female scientists' achievements in the advancing toxicology field.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Follow us on social media!
|
|
|