Safety assessment of chemicals and pharmaceuticals based on human biology
People are daily exposed to lots of different chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Safety assessment is necessary to protect us against the possible dangers of these substances. To date, safety assessment makes use of laboratory animals but this is increasingly being criticised. From a societal point of view there is a growing interest in animal welfare. From a scientific point of view the accuracy of animal studies to predict toxicity in humans is limited. In addition, current animal testing regimes do not reflect human-relevant scenarios, such as differences in susceptibility due to age, sexe, timing of exposure, or disease state. Esmeralda is project manager of two projects on the transition to an animal-free safety assessment:
Virtual Human Platform for Safety Assessment (VHP4Safety)
Esmeralda is project manager of the 11.4 M Euro NWO NWA-ORC project 'Virtual Human Platform for Safety Assessment.' The mission of the VHP4Safety project is to improve the prediction of the potential harmful effects of chemicals and pharmaceuticals based on a holistic, interdisciplinary definition of human health. The project will accelerate the transition from animal-based testing to innovative safety assessment based solely on data from humans. More information on the VHP4Safety project can be found on the VHP4Safety website.
Animal-Free Assays for endocrine disruption – from science to Regulatory Acceptance (AFARA)
A recently awarded project from NWO, within the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA) 'Non-animal models: acceptance and implementation' programme is called Animal-Free Assays for endocrine disruption – from science to Regulatory Acceptance (AFARA). This project will determine how the use of non-animal models for testing Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) can be improved as well as their regulatory acceptance. Even though several parties are committed to a transition to an animal-free safety assessment and countless animal-free models are developed, these models have only been implemented to a very limited extent. The AFARA project studies the process of acceptance and implementation of existing animal-free models in the assessment of the safety of substances for humans with a focus on EDCs. Esmeralda is the project manager of AFARA.
Microplastics and Human Health
Plastic is an integral part of modern life. As plastic products age and wear, they break down into tiny particles known as micro- and nanoplastics. These particles are now widespread in our environment and have been detected in the human body, including blood, lungs, the placenta, and the brain.
While the environmental impacts of plastic pollution are increasingly recognised, much less is known about what micro- and nanoplastics may mean for human health. Addressing this knowledge gap requires careful, long-term research that connects exposure, biological effects, risk assessment, and options to reduce potential risks. Esmeralda is project manager of MOMENTUM, MOMENTUM2.0 and MOMENTUM3.0.
MOMENTUM
The overall goal of MOMENTUM is to improve understanding of the potential health risks of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) and to support evidence-based strategies to reduce these risks. Under the MOMENTUM umbrella, multiple research projects have been carried out over time to address different aspects of microplastics and human health.
The current project, MOMENTUM 3.0, builds on insights from earlier MOMENTUM projects and brings together partners from universities, academic hospitals, research institutes, and industry. MOMENTUM 3.0 aims to move from fragmented knowledge towards an integrated approach that links exposure, biological effects, and risk management. A central objective of the project is the further development of an integrated human health risk assessment framework for MNP exposure. With growing evidence that inhalation, particularly in indoor environments, is a major route of exposure, MOMENTUM 3.0 places specific emphasis on indoor air exposure and on identifying interventions that could help reduce this exposure.