Chairs: Rita Ortega-Vallbona & Luiz Ladeira
This session highlights the collaborative efforts of emerging scientists from major European networks—specifically the ASPIS Academy (encompassing PrecisionTox, Risk-Hunt3r, and ONTOX), the PARC Junior Community, and the VICT3R initiative. Together, these investigators are transitioning chemical safety evaluation away from traditional animal models and toward advanced, non-animal testing alternatives. By leveraging cutting-edge AI frameworks, virtual control groups, and advanced in vitro and in silico platforms, they are redefining how we predict toxicological risk. Attendees will gain insight into their latest experimental breakthroughs, cross-disciplinary methodologies, and the practical hurdles of gaining regulatory acceptance for these new approaches.
Speakers
- Eike Cöllen – Establishment of an in-vitro neurotoxicity test battery using 2D/3D neuronal cell models for the assessment of functional disturbances in the nervous system
- Mahshid Alimohammadi – A generalizable approach to establish neurotoxicity assays with heightened sensitivity for mitochondrial toxicants
- Lucy Sinke – Enhancing mechanism-based neurotoxicity evaluations with in vitro LUHMES-based gene co-expression network analysis
- Matthias Wehr – Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) and new opportunities in the era of AI
- Karolina Kopanska – ONTOX Probabilistic Risk Assessment (OPRA): An AI-enabled framework