Projects and initiatives

EURL ECVAM
Projects and initiatives
HealthInnovationPolicy

EURL ECVAM

The EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) promotes and facilitates the use of non-animal methods in testing and research. It validates, disseminates and shares knowledge on the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal experiments). In this video, Raffaella Corvi explains what EURL ECVAM does in the field of safety testing of chemicals while reducing laboratory animal testing. Watch the accessible version of the video here (https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-230374). ©European Union, 2021
02:336 months ago
CONNECT
Projects and initiatives
HealthIn vitro

CONNECT

Many people worldwide suffer from brain diseases. These diseases are often hard or even impossible to treat. One of the reasons for this that potentially beneficial drugs cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier. The CONNECT project aims to develop a blood-brain barrier model and connect this to a brain model, all derived from cells. With this advanced in vitro test system, researchers aim to be able to study how drugs can be transferred more effectively and safely over the blood-brain barrier in an animal-free and human-relevant manner.
03:1431 days ago
Cells4Thought: using iPSCs for neurodevelopmental health
Projects and initiatives
HealthToxicologyInnovationIn vitro

Cells4Thought: using iPSCs for neurodevelopmental health

The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including cognitive impairments, is increasing worldwide with great impact on daily life quality. There is evidence that exposure to chemicals may contribute to the incidence of NDD. However, a causal link is lacking. Towards this goal, a human-relevant in vitro model system mimicking parts of brain development, such as neuronal network functioning, could be used for mechanistic research on how gene-environment interactions contribute to the development of NDD. This is going to be studied in the project Cells4Thought, using induced pluripotent stem cells form different individuals to study the effect of chemicals on neuronal differentiation.
02:388 months ago
We all want a safer world for humanity, animals and the environment: Transition Animal-free Innovation
Projects and initiatives
HealthInnovationPolicyBeginner

We all want a safer world for humanity, animals and the environment: Transition Animal-free Innovation

Why is the transition to animal-free research so important? What are animal-free models? How does TPI (Transition Animal-Free Innovation) encourage their development and use? And who are we working with to make this happen? We explain this in our animation. More and more animal-free tests and research methods are becoming available, but not all research questions or safety tests can be answered in this way yet. In addition, the validation, qualification and acceptance of non-animal innovations still lags behind. Therefore, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) stimulates the development and application of animal-free innovations. This is done with the partner programme Transition Animal-free Innovation (TPI).
02:489 months ago
VitalTissue: scientific research can be more human(e)
Projects and initiatives
HealthInnovationIn vitro

VitalTissue: scientific research can be more human(e)

The goal of VitalTissue is to facilitate the availability of vital human residual tissue for all researchers in the Netherlands. This video shows how VitalTissue works. From a request from a researcher, the donation of the residual tissue by the patient and the transport to the lab. This process is the result of a feasibility study conducted with many stakeholders. The national tissue bank ETB-BISLIFE will implement VitalTissue in practice.
04:2116 months ago
In3: combining in vitro and in silico for chemical safety assessment
Projects and initiatives

In3: combining in vitro and in silico for chemical safety assessment

The in3 project aims to drive the synergistic development and utilisation of in vitro and in silico tools for human chemical and nanomaterial safety assessment. The project focused on differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells to toxicologically relevant target tissues including; brain, lung, liver and kidney. The tissues, from the same genetic backgrounds, were exposed to common compounds and the data generated and prediction tools generated were used to develop modernised safety assessment approaches combining cheminformatics, mechanistic toxicology and biokinetics into computational models which can account for donor and tissue specific effects.
03:252 years ago
The Beyond Animal Testing Index
Projects and initiatives

The Beyond Animal Testing Index

The Beyond Animal Testing Index (BATI) was designed after the Access to Medicine Index with the aim to be a transparent, objective and independent benchmark that provide public research organisations and their stakeholders insight in what efforts and contributions they make in the transition to animal free innovation and to provide organisations incentive to learn from and inspire each other with regard to the implementation of research practices without the use of animals for the benefit of science.
02:002 years ago
SCREENED: developing 3D thyroid models
Projects and initiatives

SCREENED: developing 3D thyroid models

The European collaborative project SCREENED aims to develop three-dimensional (3D) cell-based in vitro tests to better characterize the effects of endocrine disruptors (EDs) on thyroid gland function. This method will overcome the limitations of existing tests, being more sensitive at low doses of exposure to chemicals, and enabling the prediction of their toxicity on human health in a sex-specific manner. The ambition of the SCREENED project is that these new 3D in vitro tests, as well as the increased knowledge about adverse reactions after exposure to EDs, will be used for regulatory purposes, ultimately to improve human health.
02:212 years ago
PrecisionTox: transforming chemical safety assessment
Projects and initiatives

PrecisionTox: transforming chemical safety assessment

In order to better protect human health and the environment from harmful chemicals, the European chemical agency (ECHA) pursues the objective of "zero tolerance" on non-compliance of chemical registration applications. In this video, scientists of the PrecisionTox project - an EU-funded project aiming to accelerate chemical safety assessment with 3Rs compliant models - explain how New Approach Methods (NAMs) provide rich biological data that can help close the data gap to increase acceptance of chemicals dossier while reducing, replacing and refining animal experimentation.
02:092 years ago
Transition Project towards Animal-free Innovations
Projects and initiatives

Transition Project towards Animal-free Innovations

Animal-free innovations are emerging at a fast pace. TPI Chair Daniela Salvatori, and TPI ambassadors Jeffrey Beekman and Elly Hol, explain why animal-free innovations are important and how TPI supports researchers in finding or developing animal-free methods for their research. They call for collaboration.
02:152 years ago
RE-Place: a database centralising the available expertise on NAMs in Belgium
Projects and initiatives

RE-Place: a database centralising the available expertise on NAMs in Belgium

RE-Place is a scientific project funded by the Flemish and Brussels government which aims to collect all available expertise on the use of alternative methods to animal testing, also known as ‘New Approach Methodologies (NAMs)’ in one central database. As the development of NAMs is continuously evolving, it can be challenging for (young) scientists to find relevant information on the use thereof. In order to facilitate access to this type of information, the ‘RE-Place’ project was launched. The RE-Place database not only provides a reliable overview of the different NAMs, but also the names of experts and research centres where these techniques can be learned in Belgium. If you are interested to participate in this project, don’t hesitate to contact info@RE-Place.be! The RE-Place project is coordinated by Sciensano and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
03:252 years ago
SMART OoC platform: a standardized modular approach
Projects and initiatives
In vitroOrgan-on-Chip

SMART OoC platform: a standardized modular approach

The SMART Organ-on-Chip project aims to bring Organ-on-Chip technology to the next level, out of the pioneering labs to industrial applications. NWO awarded 4.8 million euro to a large and diverse consortium of universities, companies, research institutes and foundations, brought together by hDMT (Dutch Organ-on-Chip Consortium), that will together develop standardized Organ-on-Chip models. These models will be made to fit the scale and quality that pharmaceutical companies need to use them for development of novel drugs, with better science and less animal use as a result. The project will kick off in autumn 2021. More information on the project will follow in the course of 2021.
02:063 years ago