National Toxicology Program

The NTP welcomes nominations of agents/models for consideration and evaluation by the Program. You can nominate an agent or model to one of five areas. If you are unsure of the proper area, nominate it to NTP's Testing Program.

• NTP's Testing Program
• Report on Carcinogens
• Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction
• National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM)
• High Throughput Screening Initiative

The NTP maintains an open nomination process. Chemicals may be studied for a variety of health-related effects, including but not limited to, reproductive and developmental toxicity, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity, metabolism and disposition, as well as carcinogenicity. The possible public health consequences of exposure remain the over-riding factor in the decision to study a particular chemical or agent.

The Report on Carcinogens is a semiannual report prepared by the NTP which contains a list of all substances (i) which either are known to be carcinogens [in humans] or may reasonably be anticipated to be [human] carcinogens; and (ii) to which a significant number of persons residing in the United States are exposed;

Nominations must contain a rationale for listing or delisting as either a "known human carcinogen" or a "reasonably anticipated human carcinogen." Appropriate background information and relevant data (e.g., journal articles, NTP Technical Reports, IARC listings, exposure surveys, release inventories, etc.) that support the nomination should be provided or referenced when possible.

The Center provides scientifically-based, uniform assessments of the potential for adverse effects on reproduction and development caused by agents to which humans may be exposed. This is accomplished through rigorous evaluations of the scientific literature by independent panels of scientists.

Nominations of chemicals or chemical mixtures must be accompanied by the reason for the nomination and, whenever possible, appropriate background information, data, or literature citations.

The Center facilitates development, validation and regulatory acceptance of new and revised regulatory test methods that reduce, refine, and replace the use of animals in testing while maintaining and promoting scientific quality and the protection of human health, animal health, and the environment.

The NTP Biomolecular Screening Branch accepts nominations of high throughput or high content screens for possible use in NTP's High Throughput Screening (HTS) initiative. Nominations might include assays suitable for quantitative HTS investigations at the NIH Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC) in Rockville, MD, as well as those that may have lower throughput, but are informative on mechanism of action. The NTP also welcomes the nomination of assays for follow-up testing of subsets of compounds to further define cellular pathways or confirm activity using an independent assay that measures the same endpoint. Of particular interest to the NTP, both as primary and secondary screens, are assays, technologies, or methods that will aid the identification of compounds that are active only after metabolic activation. To nominate an assay, please complete and submit an Assay Nomination form. 

A detailed description of the protocol requirements for HTS assays to be considered for testing at the NCGC is available. A list of HTS-related publications published by the NCGC that might be of interest is also available.