ICCVAM agency-sponsored workshops and webinars
ICCVAM agencies convened workshops and webinars during 2022 and 2023, summarized in the table below, to foster collaboration and provide information about alternative testing methods.
| Meeting Date | Sponsoring Agency (and partner organization) | Meeting Title (with link to page if available) | Meeting Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 27, 2022 - Dec 7, 2023 | EPA | Computational Toxicology Communities of Practice Webinar Series | These monthly webinars explore topics of interest to stakeholders interested in using advances in computational toxicology and exposure science to evaluate the safety of chemicals. The series will continue into 2024, and videos are available for many past webinars. |
| Apr 4, 2022 - Aug 4, 2023 | NIEHS | Environmental Health Language Collaborative Webinars | Six webinars and a virtual workshop were held during 2022 and 2023 to advance the goals of the Environmental Health Language Collaborative. Topics discussed included developing use cases, metadata and coding, and data platforms. |
| May 11, 2022 – Jan 18, 2023 | EPA (PETA Science Consortium International eV., Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) | Webinar Series on the Use of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in Risk Assessment | Three webinars concluded a series that began in 2018. In a May 2022 webinar, EPA scientists discussed computational tools and analyses EPA is using to reduce animal use for ecotoxicity testing. The last two webinars discussed frameworks for establishing confidence in NAMs. |
| Jun 7-8, 2022 | NIH | NIH Workshop on 3D Tissue Models | This NIH workshop covered practical approaches and best practices for developing standardized 3D cellular assays. The overall goal was to help scientists establish robust, reproducible, scalable, consistent, advanced 3D tissue models to study pandemic threat viruses. |
| Jun 14, 2022 | FDA | FDA Public Meeting of Science Board | This FDA advisory committee discussed challenges in evaluating the safety of dietary supplements and food ingredients, adoption and use of NAMs to accelerate product development and enhance emergency preparedness, and enhanced efforts to ensure optimal organization, infrastructure, and expertise for data science efforts in alignment with its regulatory scope and evidence-based decision-making, in support of FDA’s public health priorities. |
| Jun 22-24, 2022 | NIH/OLAW, USDA/AWIC (JHU/CAAT, JHU Dept. of Molecular and Comparative Biology) | 9th Annual 3Rs Symposium | Presentations focused on 3Rs methods to improve laboratory animal welfare while maintaining or improving scientific results. Topics include mixed strain housing, best animal models for disease research, adoption programs, and collaborating to solve animal welfare issues among other topics. |
| Oct 3-4, 2022 | NIEHS | Clustering and Classification: Applications to Investigate Adverse Effects of Chemicals on Human Health and Environment | This workshop introduced the concept of chemical similarity and explored the uses of different classification and clustering approaches for toxicity research and risk assessment. Speakers identified best practices and guidelines for application of these approaches. |
| Oct 12-13, 2022 | EPA | EPA NAMs Conference for Chemical Safety Testing | EPA hosts regular conferences to provide updates on reducing the use of vertebrate animals in chemical testing and solicit input from interested stakeholders. The conferences highlight the state-of-the-science on the development and use of NAMs for chemical safety testing. |
| Jul 19 - Oct 7, 2022 | NIEHS (PCRM) | Webinar Series: NAMs to Address Population Variability and Susceptibility | Three webinars addressed how NAMs can incorporate population variability into assessments of skin sensitization potential, rare disease investigations, and exposure assessments. |
| Oct 26-27, 2022 | NIEHS | NIEHS Symposium on Using New Approach Methodologies to Address Variability and Susceptibility Across Populations | Speakers at this symposium highlighted information needs for population variability and susceptibility and considered where NAMs could be designed or improved to fill those needs. An important goal of the event was to initiate conversations to build trust in NAMs use and stress the importance of risk assessment to protect all populations. |
| May 17-18, 2023 | NIH/OLAW, USDA/AWIC (JHU/CAAT, JHU Dept. of Molecular and Comparative Biology) | 10th Annual 3Rs Symposium | Presentations focused on 3Rs methods to improve laboratory animal welfare while maintaining or improving scientific results. Topics include liver-chip technologies, environmental health monitoring, refinement and enrichment strategies, and regulatory insights into the 3Rs. |
| Aug 23 - Nov 29, 2023 | EPA (PSCI, Institute for In Vitro Sciences, California Department of Pesticide Regulation [CPDR]) | EPIC Webinar Series on the Use of NAMs in Risk Assessment | The EPIC series covers timely topics on the use of NAMs for risk assessment within EPA and CDPR. The quarterly series will continue into 2024. |
| Sep 18 - Oct 6, 2023 | NIEHS/CPSC/DoD/EPA/FDA (JHU CAAT, Unilever) | Webinar Series: Trust Your Gut: Establishing Confidence in Gastrointestinal Models | This webinar series provided background information for a workshop on the state-of-the-science for using NAMs to predict gastrointestinal absorption and toxicity. Presentations focused on (1) absorption and pharmacokinetics, (2) microbiome effects on toxicity, and (3) evaluating potential allergenicity. |
| Oct 11-12, 2023 | NIEHS/CPSC/DoD/EPA/FDA (JHU CAAT, Unilever) | Workshop: Trust Your Gut: Establishing Confidence in Gastrointestinal Models | This workshop considered the state-of-the-science for using NAMs to predict gastrointestinal absorption and toxicity. |