Abstract
This year, the JRC Summer School on Non-Animal Approaches in Science proposed that their three poster awards would be presented during the online event. The summer school participants voted for the winners. In addition, three organisations, namely: PETA Science Consortium International eV; Early-Career Researchers Advancing 21st Century Science (ERA21); and the European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV), each awarded a poster prize to one of the JRC summer school students. The JRC organising team interviewed the winners, and the following is an insightful look into the current work and future projects ideas of these six young scientists that were selected for their excellent work in the area of alternatives.
Tell us about yourself and your Three Rs-related work
I am working as a regulatory toxicologist at the regulatory affairs team at Perstorp Group, and here I drive the use of non-animal approaches, as well as efficient study design when animal studies cannot be avoided. One key issue that is very dear to me is open data sharing between the substance registrants in industry, which is highly encouraged by the authorities but sometimes not sufficiently done in practice. However, only with open data sharing can we truly avoid unnecessary duplication of animal studies.
Why did you apply to the JRC Summer School?
The summer school truly was one of the highlights of the Toxicology Master curriculum — usually, we all travel together to Italy to partake in this event. This year was, of course, different, but we still all applied and participated as usual.
What did you gain from this event; were your expectations met?
I expected to learn a lot about interesting innovations in toxicity testing — and I was not disappointed. The big focus on, for example, organs-on-a-chip, was very useful and informative for me, and also allowed me to dream about the future of animal-free toxicity testing. Apart from that, I expected a lot of networking and getting to know amazing and competent people. However, I realise that it is much harder to achieve good networking when you are only participating virtually.
What are your future plans for the Three Rs?
I would like to continuously advocate the Three Rs throughout my professional career and try to use non-animal approaches to safety testing whenever possible. As already mentioned, I am also working hard on the data sharing issues. Often, such simple and practical approaches can make a huge difference and can help solve parts of the problem! I try also to stay updated on novel non-animal approaches in the regulatory toxicity testing setting, so I can use them as soon as they are established and validated. In this way, I hope that the toxicity testing of industrial chemicals primarily with the use of non-animal approaches, will soon be a reality.
Tell us about yourself and your Three Rs-related work
My PhD work involves the use of embryonic zebrafish cells (ZF4) as an alternative model, describing the utility of a much-needed stable zebrafish embryonic cell line as a potential early-stage aquatic in vitro model for nanosafety evaluation. The aim is to assess and describe the molecular and toxicological responses activated by exposure to silver nanoparticles and their ionic counterpart (AgNO3). Furthermore, the work highlights dose–response relationships in different signalling and cell death mechanisms, demonstrating comparable toxicological responses with other reported fish cell and mammalian models, and providing insights into the molecular events triggered as part of a cytotoxic response. These results may potentially contribute to the establishment of Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) frameworks for nanomaterials and support efforts towards a reduction in animal experimentation.
Why did you apply to the JRC Summer School?
I was very keen to apply to the JRC summer school as it was an amazing opportunity to participate in a variety of useful workshops and presentations, learning from many renowned experts in the field about their new research advances and models for reproducible studies. There was also the chance to obtain guidance on future experimental design, as well as a range of networking prospects.
What did you gain from this event; were your expectations met?
The JRC summer school was a remarkable event that had the participation of renowned scientists and students from a variety of fields, presenting amazing research studies that involved the use of new technologies and alternative approaches to support the reduction, refinement and replacement of animal use in experimental studies. Furthermore, we also had the opportunity to discuss fundamental issues regarding the use of animals in research, tackling misconceptions and opening our minds to new ideas and concepts.
What are your future plans for the Three Rs?
I plan to continue working with ZF4 cells, to further explore their utility for environmental toxicological studies. In addition, our group also aims to explore the applicability of ZF4 cells in other areas, which is an important step towards the validation of this cell model to reduce in vivo testing.
Tell us about yourself and your Three Rs-related work
I am, at the moment, developing an in vitro model of dystrophin deficient cardiomyopathy. The aim is to address the problems of variability in drug efficacy from patient-to-patient and lack of maturation of cardiac in vitro models. By using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and a cardiac organ-on-chip with the capability to stimulate the maturation of cardiac cells in a disease model, I expect to provide more robust and reliable means to test new treatments for dystrophin deficient cardiomyopathy. This will help replace or reduce the use of animal testing in the later stages of drug development.
Why did you apply to the JRC Summer School?
Firstly, I wanted to gain a better understanding of the constraints and restrictions that human in vitro models still have. Secondly, I wanted to get a better idea of the path towards the replacement or/and reduction of the use of animal models. Another expectation from the course was to gain an appreciation of other current approaches to non-animal models (e.g. in silico models) and to consider how all of this knowledge could be integrated to achieve more robust physiological and pathological models.
What did you gain from this event; were your expectations met?
I will positively remember this summer school for the diversity of topics within the field of the Three Rs and all the different activities. I definitely was able to interact with the other scientists, even though it was an online event. I appreciated the opportunity to prepare for the debate, because we were researching and learning not only about the topic itself, but also how to construct an efficient strategy of communicating research to the general public. The career session was also very insightful.
What are your future plans for the Three Rs?
I hope to continue with research on the development of new in vitro models. I would like to understand more closely the industrial and commercial side of this field and to participate in more strategies that help replacing animal testing. On another hand, I aspire to learn how to communicate new scientific findings in a more efficient way, especially through scientific illustration. I believe that visual communication could help bridge the gap between scientific publications and public awareness, and I would really like to help build that connection.
Tell us about yourself and your Three Rs-related work
The field of my Master’s study was biochemistry and biomedical technologies. My diploma thesis dealt with the development of a new protocol for testing the ocular irritation and photo irritation of medical devices and ophthalmologic drugs with a 3-D reconstructed cornea-like model. This goal was chosen because there is so far no standardised and validated method for ocular photo irritation testing. This thesis was undertaken in collaboration with the Center of Experimental Medicine (CEM) at the Slovak Academy of Sciences and financially supported by two grants (APVV-19-0591 and VEGA 2/0153/20).
Why did you apply to the JRC Summer School?
I applied because I saw it as an opportunity to join such a great event! I would not be able to join this JRC Summer School if it wasn’t held online. The summer school was dedicated to the Three Rs and alternative methods, which are — in my opinion — the future of research in the fields of biology, medicine, pharmacology and many more.
What did you gain from this event; were your expectations met?
I definitely gained a lot of knowledge, as I expected. I also met a lot of people and made many new contacts, which is important in research. I was really pleased and honoured to be chosen as the recipient of the PETA Science Consortium award — I absolutely did not expect to win an award!
What are your future plans for the Three Rs?
I plan to continue to apply the Three Rs principles in my PhD study. First of all, we want to finalise the development and validation of the ocular photo irritation test. I would also like to expand my work towards microfluidics use and investigate the influence of dynamic conditions on the performance of various in vitro 2-D and 3-D models. Last but not least, I would like to explore the possibilities of 3-D tissue reconstruction and bio-printing of tissues, especially in connection with COVID-19 research. There are a lot of years ahead, and I will work hard to meet my goals!
Tell us about yourself and your Three Rs-related work
During my undergraduate pharmacy course, my constant argument concerned ‘How can animal models predict the human health effect of a new product?’. So, in 2013, I started to work on the development and application of non-animal-based methods for efficacy and toxicity assessment of chemicals and products. In 2016, during my Master’s degree project, we developed the first Brazilian reconstituted corneal epithelial 3-D model for eye toxicity assessment, which is now under inter-laboratory validation study. In my PhD project, I am following an investigational approach to the identification of respiratory sensitisers employing an inflammatory-based framework.
Why did you apply to the JRC Summer School?
I saw the summer school as an opportunity to be in touch with the most recent advances in the field of New Approach Methodologies, comprising both the scientific/technological progress achieved with different experimental models (such as organs-on-a-chip, organoids and stem cell-based models), as well as the regulatory context of acceptance of such methods by regulators and decision-makers. I also wanted to learn more about in vitro disease modelling for biomedical research and the toolbox of human-relevant methods for drug discovery.
What did you gain from this event; were your expectations met?
All my expectations were exceeded by the event! During the summer school, beyond the excellent lectures ministered by experts, I had also the opportunity to discuss with speakers, to learn about career possibilities and to talk with other colleagues from different parts of the world. Another challenging experience was to participate in the debate at the end of the event.
What are your future plans for the Three Rs?
After my PhD conclusion, I want to keep my efforts within academia as a researcher. As a pharmacist, my biggest dream is to work in the field of in vitro disease modelling for the assessment of new treatment options for degenerative diseases. In this context, I want to contribute to the expansion of the toolbox of preclinical experimental models that will result in the successful development of more effective and safe drugs for human consumption, expediting solutions for the complex health issues that currently concern humanity.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine launched the
Tell us about yourself and your Three Rs-related work
I grew up as a multicultural child in eastern France, raised by a Slovenian mother and a Colombian father. My curiosity for science emerged very early on. I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Strasbourg before joining L’Oréal’s research as a 2-year apprentice, as part of my Master’s programme. I became passionate about tissue engineering and chose to pursue a doctoral programme. My PhD thesis project focuses on the development of an in vitro lung/liver platform for the toxicological assessment of aerosolised xenobiotics. Our device aims to study inhaled-like exposure routes by focusing on inter-organ crosstalk, and this could lead to a new physiologically relevant way of characterising controversial aerosols, such as pesticides, within the Three Rs framework.
Why did you apply to the JRC Summer School?
I was seeking to broaden my knowledge and mindset through the large diversity of research areas, speakers and fellow attendee nationalities on the programme. On a more personal level, as I am slowly preparing for my post-PhD adventures, I wanted to meet people originating from all kinds of backgrounds in the hope of benefiting from their feedback to shape my own career choices for the future.
What did you gain from this event; were your expectations met?
I have a clearer vision of the central role occupied by non-animal methods in science and regulation, in today’s European vision of research. I also became better aware of the gaps that remain to be tackled, underscoring the ways one can impactfully contribute towards the replacement of animal use in science.
What are your future plans for the Three Rs?
I hope to thrive through the last stretch of my PhD and embark on a post-doctoral position abroad — I have been currently dreaming of working in a few specific laboratories in Canada and on the East Coast of the United States. I would like to continue specialising in Biological Engineering, and I hope to meaningfully participate in promoting a new way of working in experimental science. I wish to continue to share and learn from others by attending a wide range of congresses, workshops and lectures because these represent great opportunities to unite people around a common domain or interest and to accelerate innovative processes.
promote in vitro and in silico toxicology scientifically and educationally; encourage research and use of Three Rs alternative methodologies; advance education and training of in vitro and in silico toxicology; foster scientific exchange on in vitro and in silico toxicology; strengthen the scientific network and facilitate communication between academia, industry and regulators; co-operate with similar organisations and societies.
More information is available at: https://www.estiv.org/