Applied in Vitro Toxicology course

In vitro toxicity methods are gaining importance, in particular as a response to a number of European legislative changes which call for more mechanistically-based decision-making and limit or even prohibit the use of animal experimentation for risk assessment purposes. Hence, there is an urgent demand for toxicologists and risk assessors to implement in vitro testing results into regulatory safety evaluation of chemicals. This course aims at meeting this ubiquitous need by training individuals who wish to start or pursue a career in this direction or to gain an update on the state-of-the-art of applied in vitro toxicology. This course can be considered to fulfill the criteria for one of the elements of the European Registered Toxicologist (ERT) training program.

Course organization

This 6-day course is organized by the European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV) in collaboration with the Belgian Toxicology Association (BelTox) and combines cutting-edge lectures by leading experts with highly interactive group exercises. The lectures cover a broad spectrum of subjects pertinent to regulatory, screening and investigative in vitro toxicology. The group exercises consist of real-life case studies in which the participants will apply the principles of in vitro toxicology to the risk assessment of chemical substances. Course examination will be based upon presentation and discussion of the case studies. The participants will receive a certificate in case of a positive evaluation. Furthermore, the participants will be given the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with respect to in vitro modelling.

Course topic

European legislative framework and international guidelines for in vitro toxicity testing of chemicals.
Use and validation of 3R-alternative methods in Europe.
In vitro methods for assessing cytotoxicity, skin sensitization, skin/eye irritation/corrosion, immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity.
Development and application of cell lines, organ-specific models, tridimensional models, bioreactors and stem cell models in in vitro toxicology.
Use of “omics”-based methods in in vitro toxicology.
Good cell culture practice.
In vitro kinetics and in vitro-in vivo extrapolation.
In vitro aspects of pathway-based toxicology.
In vitro models used in the field of nanotoxicology.
Hands-on exercise in assembling tridimensional cell culture models

Public

This course is intended for (post)doctoral students and early-stage scientists from industry, academia or regulatory agencies who recently became active in the field of in vitro toxicology. Applicants should ideally have a background in toxicology, biology, chemistry, (bio)medical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, veterinary sciences or equivalent. Attendees are expected to be proficient in English. A maximum of 25 participants will be enrolled in the course on a first-come/first-served basis, yet priority will be given to members of ESTIV, BelTox and affiliated societies.